Brian Hockel has spent almost his entire life right here in the Northgate neighborhood. He grew up, from the age of 3, in a home on Encina Corte (where his parents still live), as a child he rode a BMX bike on the land graded for houses in the Diablo Shadow neighborhood before there were houses there and spent his allowance at the Encina Grande Shopping Center. As a teen he worked at Encina Bikes and for the Gourmet Shop Delicatessen (at the location which is now Bagel Street Café). He joined his father’s local business as a dentist, raised his family of 11 children here, and now lives in the Diablo Shadows neighborhood with his wife, Beth, and their three youngest children.
Brian and Beth met in 1988 while Brian was attending UCSF School of Dentistry and Beth was earning a Master’s degree at Stanford University. As church and faith have always been a big part of their lives, it’s no surprise they met at a church activity and married at St. Margaret Mary Church in Oakland, where Beth sang in the choir.
Beth, who grew up in New York and Rhode Island, earned her Master’s in Electrical Engineering from Stanford. She used her advanced training to homeschool many of her 11 children. “You have to be pretty organized to handle as many as eight grade levels at the same time!” she laughed. In addition, Beth has directed a children’s choir through the Homeschooling group and also at Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland. The Hockels are parishioners at St. Francis of Assisi, just down Oak Grove Rd. in Concord where Brian attended grades 1-8. Beth joined Brian’s business in 1990, helping out at the front desk as needed until 2017 when she took on the role of Business Office Manager.
Brian graduated from De La Salle High School in 1979. He attended USF and then UCSF, earning his DDS degree in 1989 and went into practice with his father, Jack, at the Hockel Dental office next door to the Ygnacio Valley Library. The elder Dr. Hockel and his wife, Judie, raised their six children in a home adjacent to that office on Oak Grove Rd. The Drs. Hockel practiced together for 12 years until Jack retired and Brian took over the practice. In addition to Beth, Brian’s brother Steve and sister Barbara also work at the family business, now named Life Dental & Orthodontics. Brian and his brothers also have a band together named “The Automatics,” which has played semi-regularly at Rocco’s Ristorante and Pizzeria. “It’s always great to play music with my brothers,” comments Brian. “We enjoy covering rock classics from the Beatles to present day.”
Growing up, many of the Hockel offspring took part in the Scottsdale Swim Team, just as Brian and his siblings had in the 1970’s. The seven oldest kids would walk to Encina Grande for lessons at Sparta Tae Kwon Do, and several played baseball for Walnut Creek Little League and JOBL in Concord. Five of the boys have been very active with Squadron 44 of the Civil Air Patrol, based at the Buchanan Field in Concord.
The four oldest Hockel children are launched into careers and lives of their own. Rez, 29, is an artist and caregiver in Denver, CO. John, 27, is a computer engineer at a cyber security firm in Syracuse, NY. Bernadette, 26, now married, is a Montessori teacher in Portland, OR, and Claire, 25, teaches English in Seoul, Korea.
Four children are in college. James, 23, is finishing his law degree at Georgetown. The other three are at Benedictine College in Kansas. Peter, 21, is a senior and will soon be commissioning as a US Air Force officer. Andrew, 20, is a sophomore pre-dental student, and Matthew, 18, is a freshman considering a career in law enforcement.
The three remaining children are at home. Mark, 16, is a junior in high school. He helps at the dental office after school and has plans to earn his private pilot’s license. Mary, 14, is a freshman at Northgate High School where she is also a member of the swim team, and Monica, 13, attends Foothill Middle School. All three of the younger children enjoy playing foosball together.
All of the Hockels, except Peter, are huge Giants fans and have fond memories of attending epic games together. Peter is an A’s fan! And it was no small feat to bring all 13 Hockels together for a cruise to the Bahamas in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit. They also enjoy annual trips to Tahoe where they stay in a cabin built by Brian’s grandfather in the 1950’s. With the pandemic, the Hockel’s favorite activity has become family bike rides. Through it all, they believe, “Don’t take what we have for granted; stay grateful.” There is much to be grateful for in this beautiful place the Hockels have called home for a long time.
By Kara Navolio, Resident since 1991 | Photo by Julie Cheshire
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