An owner of Lowman’s Southfork Lodge and Elko city councilman dies from COVID-19
An Elko, Nevada, city councilman and an owner of the Southfork Lodge in Lowman has died from complications from COVID-19, according to the chief deputy coroner for Boise County, Mike Johnson.
William J. “Bill” Hance, 55, began having symptoms of COVID-19 on Tuesday, Johnson said, and was found dead Wednesday morning at the Southfork Lodge. He had previously tested positive for COVID-19 and died of respiratory arrest due to the illness.
Hance lived in Elko and was visiting Idaho this month when he got ill, according to a post on the city of Elko’s website.
“We are stunned and saddened by Bill’s sudden passing,” Elko Mayor Reece Keener said in the post. “Councilman Hance was a dedicated public servant who loved his community, and always sought to do the right thing. He will be greatly missed.”
Hance was elected to the council in 2018, and was serving his first four-year term when he died.
Keener told the Idaho Statesman by phone that Hance was an Air Force veteran and small business owner who had been stationed for a time in Antarctica during his military service.
“When we were hearing weighty items (on the council), I would frequently call on him because he would always have an interesting perspective,” Keener said. “I am not looking forward to the first meeting without him.”
Keener added that Hance’s mother died last month in a single-vehicle accident outside of Elko.
According to a Friday posting on the Lodge’s Facebook page, Hance’s wife, Jeni-Lei Powell, was “life flighted as a result of Covid” to a hospital as well. Taylor Reeves, a spokesperson for St. Luke’s Health System, told the Statesman by phone that a patient with that name was admitted to the hospital’s Boise Medical Center.
“She is battling to recover,” the Facebook post said.
The lodge is currently closed, according to the post, and will remain closed for two weeks “for the safety of our workers and our guests.”
This story was originally published July 17, 2021 at 12:16 PM.
