Dorothy Lee Hoffman

Dorothy Lee Blackwell Hoffman

Dorothy Lee Blackwell Hoffman passed away suddenly at University of Virginia Medical Center on Monday, March 29, 2010, after suffering from a stroke on Friday, March 12, 2010.

Dorothy was the love of his life and best friend for husband, Bob. They were married 54 years, after meeting at the University of Virginia, while he was a student there, and she, a nurse.

She is survived by her husband, Bob; children, Karen Atwood and her husband, Chris, and daughter, Julia, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Lisa Hoffman of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Brent Hoffman and his wife, Cathie, and their children, Brent II and Kaitlin, of Charlotte, North Carolina; and Ingrid Tepelmann and her husband, Fritz, of Annapolis, Maryland.

She delighted in the academic and sports accomplishments of her grandchildren, and in the escapades of her "furry" grandchildren, Rugby, Bogey, Daisy, Mischief and (non-furry) Cosmos.

She graduated from the University of Virginia as a Registered Nurse in 1951, where she worked as a graduate nurse for a year before moving on to various other nursing positions at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Veterans Administration Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, and Tampa, Florida, Georgetown University Eye Clinic in Washington, D.C., and Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia.

Her favorite short-term nursing stints were working at Lake Paradox, a private summer camp for 9 to 10 years old boys in the Adirondacks, and a three week primitive camping trip through Kenya (Africa) as the school nurse responsible for some 20 high school students from her son's class at the American School of Paris during Bob's assignment to IBM Europe in Paris, France. While assigned there, Dot and Bob traveled widely in Europe; in their retirement years they enjoyed trips to Australia, New Zealand and Alaska.

Dorothy loved horseback riding and playing tennis, played basketball for her high school team, enjoyed watching ice hockey, was a great fan of polo matches, the Kentucky Derby and international tennis tournaments, and was a student pilot during her time in Richmond. She loved nothing better than getting into the wild blue yonder, piloting a small Cessna. Along with her husband, she was a member of the University of Virginia's Colonnade Club, Pavilion Society, University of Virginia Alumni Society, the University of Virginia Thomas Jefferson Society, and First Presbyterian Church.

She is also survived by sisters, Mary Sheridan and Louise Rich of Crozet; and many nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, as well as many cousins on both sides of the family.

Dot's parents were Joe and Elizabeth Blackwell. They ran the P. E. Blackwell and Son general country store and post office in Doylesville (beyond White Hall) for many years, in the days when some customers rode their horses to the store. As a youngster, Dot frequently delighted in "borrowing" their horses for a little ride!

Dot and Bob's favorite toast to one another was, "To us, Best Friends and Lovers, forever and ever, throughout ALL the eternities," and Bob would always add, "just in case there's more than one," which always brought a little smile to Dorothy's face. He called her his "wild Irish rose".

Dorothy loved people and genuinely cared about them. She became a nurse because as an early teenager she saw how good the nurses at University of Virginia Medical Center were to her much beloved grandfather, Permeniah Blackwell, during his five year bout with leukemia. She was steadfast in her determination to become a nurse. Her father, knowing how demanding is the career of nursing, tried mightily to dissuade her by offering to buy her a horse and board him at the college of her choice where she could major in Physical Education. Despite her love of sports and horses, she would not be deterred, entered University of Virginia's nursing program at 17 years old. She was an absolutely lovely person, who will be sorely missed by many. Now she is back into the wild blue yonder once again.

A funeral service will be conducted at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 1, 2010, at Mount Moriah United Methodist Church, 4492 Garth Road. Interment of cremated remains will be private for the family immediately after the service, followed by a reception at the church social hall.

Teague Funeral Home, 2260 Ivy Road, Charlottesville, 977-0005, is handling funeral arrangements. A viewing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, 2010, there.

Flowers are welcome or memorial contributions may be made to SPCA, P.O. Box 7047, Charlottesville, VA 22906.

Friends may sign the guest register at teaguefuneralhome.com.

Please Note: This is a corrected obituary.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.