Jedidiah Christian Hoffman

Jedidiah Christian Hoffman

Jedidiah Christian Hoffman, 15, of Park City, Montana died Nov. 1, 2021, at St. Vincent Hospital surrounded by his family, a few days after he collapsed on the football field during practice. He was born Dec. 3, 2005 in Billings to Kevin and Gayle (Hartung) Hoffman. He had an older sister, Abby Hoffman. Jed grew up on his family farm outside of Park City. He had a special relationship with all three grandparents, who lived nearby and he made special efforts to spend time with them even as he got older. Growing up on the farm, Jed had lots of experiences and like most farm kids, began riding on and then driving equipment at an early age. Jed loved working with his dad and they worked on countless projects together, but the one they enjoyed the most was building the pond at the church's camp on the Boulder. Jed loved Jesus and looked forward each summer to going to church camp with his friends.

Jed loved sports, especially football. He started playing at an early age. He played four years with the Montana Youth Outlaws, where he truly became part of a family as they traveled to Las Vegas, Oakland, Denver, Laramie, Albuquerque, and made two trips to the Youth Football Championships in Canton, Ohio. Through his time with the Outlaws, Jed learned how to be a competitor, and he learned the skills of the game. The biggest lesson Jed learned through the Outlaws is that just because someone doesn't think you can compete, doesn't mean that you can't. The Outlaws proved themselves as a team and Jed proved himself as a teammate and player building friendships with his players and coaches.

Jed attended Park City High School where he made many friends. He was a smart, kind, confident and light-hearted kid who made an impact on those he shared life with. Jed enjoyed his friends and extra-curricular activities. He competed in the FFA Ag Expo, basketball, golf and of course football. His goal was to bring a state championship to Park City.

There was always something going on at the Hoffman house, building racing lawn mowers, homecoming floats, ATV assisted sledding and working on vehicles. Jed and his friends had a blast together and were creative and industrious, it wasn't enough just to do something, they had to do it with style. This last summer, Jed and his dad built his very own shop to provide a place to host these projects and where Jed planned to restore his grandpa's '72 Ford. He only got to truly enjoy the shop for a few weeks but for those couple of weeks he was beaming.

Jed was part of a close-knit family, he made time for his mom and dad, and said "Love you" every time he left the house. He took care of his mom, and she looked forward to him coming home for lunch each day. He was close to his older sister, they shared lots of conversations together. The evidence of God's hand was on his life. He had lots of friends and the family is blessed to hear all the stories of how Jed was a safe person to be around, how he tried to include others and of his great sense of humor.

Jed was preceded in death by his grandfather, Elhart; and his nana, Betty Hartung. He is survived by his father, Kevin; mother, Gayle; sister, Abby and grandmother, Joanne all of Park City.

A funeral service will be held 11 am, Monday, Nov. 8 at Faith Chapel in Billings. Those unable to attend can view the service online at https://boxcast.tv/view/jed-hoffman-memorial-id2p6l0vilen0rzkzthd.

Memorials can be given at https://gofund.me/183c4f8e. Any proceeds exceeding family expenses will be used to set up a scholarship fund in remembrance of Jed.