Mr. Frederick Charles Hoffmann

Frederick Charles Hoffmann, 80, of Sebastian, FL, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, April 6th surrounded by family when he passed at Hospice House. Born in Queens, NY, Fred was one of ten siblings all born at their home by a midwife. He was the son of Alma and Henry Hoffmann. Fred worked for Lunn Laminates of Long Island as their Pattern Maker. He built prototypes for General Dynamics, Electric Boat, Grumman and Raytheon. He worked as the only pattern maker for 47 years until he retired. Fred is survived by his wife Lorraine Hoffmann, and two sons Daniel Hoffmann and Paul Hoffmann. Fred's siblings are Martha and Kenny Hoffmann of Townshend, VT, George and Viola Hoffmann of Saratoga Springs, NY, Maryann and Arthur Hoffmann of Ruther Glen, VA, Mary and Robert Hoffmann (deceased) of Connecticut, Frank and Maria Hoffmann of Tennessee, Howard and Dotty Hoffmann of Queens, NY, Anne and Henry Hoffmann (deceased) of Queens, NY, Alma and Frank Bisztyga (both deceased) of Ft. Meyers, FL, Doris and Jack Costello of Jeffersonville, NY. He is also survived by Alex Struzzieri (brother-in-law), Judy Struzzieri and Emillio (sister-in-law and husband), and Anita Struzzieri Schoeffel (deceased sister-in-law). A Mass for the Dead was held at St. Sebastian Church on US1, Sebastian at 11AM on April 12th. The eulogy was delivered by Lorraine, Fred's wife, and follows below. Fred's family wishes to thank you for your presence and support during these difficult days. Eulogy Freddie and I were married for 53 years. I often said to Fred that the Church ought to free us after 25 years, from our vows, because then it truly becomes a life sentence. My life with Fred began with a chance meeting through my cousion Anne. Anne was married to Hank Hoffmann. I was invited over one evening to play cards. Hank had two of his brothers at his home at the time. Freddie was so quiet I didn't even notice him, but his brother Artie was funny and he made me laugh. Fred's best friend Jimmy, who was dating my sister, got Freddie to call me up after that night for a date. Fred was so shy, that when he called it was like the phone was dead on the other end so I had to start the conversation. I said, "Are you Artie"? He said "Yes". For a man we all know with a witty and often snarky sense of humor, he was so shy he had lied to me. Before my first visit to the Hoffmann home, my cousin Anne had warned me by saying the father doesn't like Italians and that Mr. Hoffmann never approved of any of the girls his sons had married. However, Fred's sister Doris had married Ralph who was Italian and now I was dating Fred, so now there were 3 Italians in the family and I felt we could take the Hoffmanns on. Mr. Hoffmann was so very German that he even wore the famous German mustache. The Hoffmann family lived in a bungalow home - 4 boys in a room with a curtain to separate the two rooms and only one bathroom. As the family grew, the boys added a room and a porch to the home themselves. The first Thanksgiving at the Hoffmann's home was orchestrated by their mom and dad, and was truly a thing of precision. Everyone of the Hoffmann children had chores to be done, while Mrs. Hoffmann went about overseeing the chores. Mr. Hoffmann always made the German Plum Pudding adding the hot spiced rum. The 10 children each sampled his pudding by licking his fingers. One child for one finger. After dinner all the children cleaned up the pots and pans, the tables and the home. I remember Freddie also washed the kitchen floor and, as I stood there watching, I said to myself, "Freddie is a keeper". Fred and I began our life in a ranch home in Bayshore Long Island. The builder had died before he could finish the inside of the home. It was a natural thing for the Hoffmann boys to build homes, so obviously Fred took over. We had only a slab for the oil burner down in the cellar and the stairway for C.O. The rest of the cellar was all sand or dirt. Fred bought a cement mixer and made a shoot to pour the cement down into the basement. All we both had to use was a 2x2 to level the floor. I'm thinking this man is going to bury me in the cement if I faint because he doesn't know when to quit. Some time after the basement was poured, he made half the cellar a recreation room. To furnish the house, Fred built beautiful bedroom furniture for the boys' rooms, and in the kitchen, cabinets that were all solid birch wood with a maple L-shaped counter top. Many dinners were made on that counter top. When the boys were teenagers, Fred had them help build an extension off the kitchen with a 3 sided bay window, framed by Pattern Pine. Pattern Pine is pine without knots, one of the many touches Fred built into the kitchen. Fred made many other things for the house, including a glossy waxed shuffle board table that took up the one side of the basement, and a ping pong table that the we all enjoyed for years. Even one of our cats got into playing ping pong, jumping up onto the table and then swatting the ping pong balls back at us. Fred did this all in his gargage using his jigsaw, his table saw, and his special ShopSmith 5 in 1 tool. The boys learned to use the jigsaw and tablesaw when fred helped them build a few projects, some of which the kids have till this day. Fred was a master carpenter, pattern maker, and he could build anything. This was proven at his job. He was widely recognized by companies that sent specialized work specifically to Fred to build - companies like Electric Boat, Grumman, and General Dynamics. He worked on a fiberglass Corvette body, Sikorsky helicoptor simulator, the Trident subs, specialty equipment for navy seals, Lexor casino IMAX screens, and the list goes on and on. In June, our life took a turn we were not expecting in our golden years, when Fred was diagnosed with Leukemia at Moffitt Cancer Center. I vowed then to my husband of 53 years to keep him out of the hospitals and keep him comfortable at home on Hospice care. Anyone who knew Fred knew he only saw hospitals as a place for life and death. For a husband who had cared for me all of those years, I became his caretaker the last year of his life on Hospice, and kept him at home where he was most comfortable and the happiest.