Remembering George Frederic Hoffman II

Long Lake summer resident, George Frederic Hoffman II died in Green Valley, Arizona on Thursday, February 23, 2012.  He was 86 years old.

G.F., as he was known, grew up in Leon and graduated from Leon High School in 1943.  He then joined the United States Army Air Corps where he flew 35 missions over Germany as a B-17 tail gunner in WWII with the 359 Squadron of the 303rd Bomb Group, known as the Hell’s Angels.  G.F. played football, basketball, and received his undergraduate degree from Simpson College.  He graduated from the University of Iowa Law School in 1950 and then began practicing law in Leon, Iowa for the next 55 years at the same firm his grandfather started in 1878.  At the time of his retirement Hoffman Law Firm was the oldest continuous family law firm in Iowa.  He was a lifetime member of the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers.

As a young man, G.F. worked as a lifeguard on the shores of Lake Michigan and helped Edgar Hansel pilot a boat from the Great Lakes down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.  G.F. was an avid fisherman, hunter, golfer and Iowa Hawkeye fan.  In the days before refrigeration he worked delivering ice to the cabins along Long Lake.  He often hitchhiked or rode his Indian motorcycle to get to the lake that he loved.  He spent 80 memorable summers with family and friends at the cabin on Long Lake at Park Rapids, Minnesota.

Memorials may be given to the Long Lake Area Association Foundation, PO BOX 808, Park Rapids, MN 56470 - or to the Central Decatur Community School Foundation, c/o Central Decatur Schools, Business Office, 1201 NE Poplar Street, Leon, Iowa 50144.

He is survived by his loving companion, Phyllis Westberg of Forest Lake, Minnesota; sons, Michael Andrew Hoffman of Blair, NE and Todd Eric Hoffman and wife Janet of Omaha, NE; grandchildren, Ryan Michael Hoffman and wife April of Omaha, Elizabeth Marie Hoffman of Philadelphia, PA, Scott Eric Hoffman, and twins, Sarah Elizabeth Hoffman and Katherine Patricia “Katie” Hoffman, all of Omaha; great grandchildren, Jaidyn Michael Hoffman, Elle Kate Hoffman, and Lily Abigail Hoffman, all of Omaha; foreign exchange son, Atsuro “Atz” Endo of Japan; and other relatives and many friends.

PS:  For those that remember the ice route run by the Whites:  G.F. was one of the ice men who delivered right to the cabins.