John Arthur Hofman

1970 - 2015

John Arthur Hofman, age 45, passed away unexpectedly at his home on the morning of Wednesday, October 21, 2015. The cause of death was cardiac related.

Born June 1, 1970 in Yuba City, CA, to Carlin and Barbara Hofman. John was a lifelong resident of Lincoln, CA, graduated from Lincoln High School in 1988, Sierra College in 1990, and studied a year at Chico State. John was born a rancher and a farmer, hanging from the corrals by the age of five and spending the last 30 years working cattle and growing rice, beans, corn, and hay.

John had an amazing mechanical mind as well as 'fix it man' skills like no other (it may have been the cheapest way, but it ran!). He was able to fix anything from a clothes dryer, to any vehicle he put his hands on, to the giant complex combines used to harvest his crops year after year. John also branched out into real estate, where he obtained his license and began finding the most beat up properties that nobody wanted, and then successfully turned them into the beat up "beauties" that they are today.

He enjoyed racing Enduro cars for over 15 years at the Roseville Speedway, where he has many years of 1st place trophies to show. John was just slightly competitive, from racing to basketball, volleyball and even video games. There were too many nights to count, where he would stay up all night playing one single video game, only to say "some games just have to be beat" when asked why he didn't go to sleep.

John married Nikki (Cope) Hofman in March 2003, and they have two daughters; Samantha (age 11), and Kaitlyn (age 9). Samantha and Kaitlyn have been the light of John's life for the past 11 years. They truly softened up their tough dad….and meant the entire world to him. Samantha and Kaitlyn absolutely adore their dad and never wanted to be far from him or away long from him. He taught them to be country girls, gave them all of his love and support, and made them the center of his world.

Being born and raised in Lincoln, John had a huge network of lifelong friends that were by his side through his final day. They all worked hard and played even harder. He was a member of the Thermalands Sportsmens Club where he went monthly to be amongst the old and young men of Lincoln – all of whom were great friends who supported each other in and out of the club.

John is preceded in death by his father Carlin Hofman and his father-in-law Sam Cope. John is survived by his daughters Samantha and Kaitlyn, mother Barbara Hofman, sister Heidi Guertin, brothers Ernest and William Hofman, nephews Jesse (Kristy) and Justin (Meranda) Guertin, Lee and Tim Hofman, as well as many, many lifelong friends.

John had a smile that was contagious, a sense of humor loved by all, a small stubborn bone, just slightly sarcastic, the compassion of a true friend and the hardest working man anyone has known. And if you weren't a Republican….you probably knew not to dare bring up the subject of politics around him.

A Celebration of John's Life is planned for Friday, November 6, 2015, beginning at 11:00 AM at the McBean Park Pavilion. In lieu of flowers, please donate in John's name to the American Cancer Society, where additional research can be done with heart related correlations to cancer treatments.

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