Henry G. "Hank" Hoffman

Henry was born in Detroit, Michigan, on June 13, 1929, to Loine and Frank Elmer Hoffman. He was the oldest of eight sons. His childhood was spent in Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. During the summers in Michigan, he helped his grandparents on the Hoffman farm. After graduating from Fort Wayne Indiana Military Academy, he joined the United States Navy in 1948 and served four years. He was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, and spent time on the cruiser USS Albany and the battleship USS Missouri. For a period of time, he was on the same ship as two of his brothers. He met his wife, Marie Juliano, of 63 years while stationed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Upon his honorable discharge, they were married in Most Blessed Sacrament Church on September 12, 1953. After living in Philadelphia, they moved to Woodlyn, Pennsylvania. In 1955, their son Craig was born; and, in 1960, they became parents to twin daughters Marianne and Maureen. Since their house was small and Hank was working at the Experimental Station in Delaware, they moved to Wilmington in 1965. He designed the layout of their home and lived there until his death. Hank spent 18 years attending night school to earn a bachelor in engineering degree from Penn Morton College (formerly Pennsylvania Military Academy) in 1968. For 40 plus years, he worked for the DuPont Company at the Experimental Station as a project engineer. During different periods of time, he was an active member of the Republican Party, the Barkley Civic Association, and Holy Child Church. In the summers, his family spent time camping in Myrtle Beach and Florida. Because of their passion for scuba diving Hank and his son took lessons and went on dives together. Craig was Hank’s buddy. (Sadly, Craig was killed in a work related diving accident in 1977.) After retirement, Hank loved to spend time working on his lawn and in his vegetable garden. He also joined the Seller’s Senior Center. It was during this time, that his daughters realized their father’s artistic talent which was reflected in his ceramics and rubber stamping projects. His nieces and nephews were honored to receive special ceramics pieces from their uncle. Many of them considered Uncle Hank to be their favorite. Family was most important to Hank. He loved going on vacation with his children and seven grandchildren, celebrating the holidays together, and watching his grandchildren participate in their various activities. The love his grandchildren have for their grandfather is as deep as the love he had for them. He is genuinely loved by his grandchildren, Brian (Tara) Fitzharris, Candace Ernst, Michelle (Jimmy) Ernst Voegele, Jessica Pena, Matthew Ernst, Dante Pena, and Cameron Ernst. With the recent birth of his great granddaughter, Juliana, a new ray of love and enjoyment was added to Hank’s life. Hank passed away on Thursday, January 26, with his family by his side. Even though he has disappeared from our sight, the impact of Hank’s love, values, interests, accomplishments, and sacrifices lives on in our memory as well as in the memory of family and friends who know and love him. In lieu of flowers, the family would like donations to be made in the honor of Hank to your favorite charity or organization.

Henry G. "Hank" Hoffman

June 13, 1929 - January 26, 2017

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