WILLIAM JOHN HOFFMAN
William John Hoffman, age 87, of 1212 S. Shasta St., West Covina, Calif., formerly of Plymouth, Wis., passed away on Sept. 13, 2009, in West Covina, where he has resided since 1975.
He was born Sept. 2, 1922, in Glidden, Wis., to Henry and Lucille Hill Hoffman.
He attended schools in Cavour, Argonne, Wittenburg, Lomira, St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Plymouth, graduating from Plymouth High School in 1939.
He was happily married for many years to Edythe Louise Buelke, daughter of William and Ilda (Miller) Buelke of Waldo, Wis.
The couple resided in Little Elkhart Lake, Waldo; Tempe and Phoenix, Ariz.; Lee’s Summit, Mo., and West Covina, Calif., after their marriage.
His wife preceded him in death on Jan. 20, 2000.
He graduated from Mission House College in 1950, received a master’s degree in English from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1951 and received a master’s degree in librarianship from the University of Denver in 1963.
Mr. Hoffman served as a bombardier in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, flying 50 missions over Europe from Foggia, Italy. Wounded on his 50th mission, he was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.
He taught English in Phoenix, Ariz., high school for nine years and was a high school librarian there for five years. In 1967, he became a program officer for school libraries in the United States Office of Education in Kansas City, Mo. In 1969, he became assistant dean for media services at Johnson County Community College in Shawnee Mission, Kansas.
He was appointed dean of educational media at Mt. San Antonio Community College of Walnut, Calif., in 1975 and served there until his retirement in 1984.
He is survived by his daughter, Lea (Robert) Grantham of Pasadena, Calif.; his grandson, Shannon Hoffman of Topeka, Kan.; and his sister, Kay Hoffman Wienserski of Houston, Texas.
Gravesite services will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Winooski Cemetery in the town of Lyndon. In accordance with William’s wishes, cremation has taken place.
In lieu of flowers, gifts in Bill’s name may be made to the Annual Fund for Excellence, Lakeland College, P.O. Box 359, Sheboygan, WI 53082-0359; www. Lakeland.edu.
The Suchon Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Plymouth is serving his family. For online condolences, visit www.suchonfh.com.
