James C. Hoffman

1925 - 2014

BORN

1925

DIED

2014

About

University of Southern California

James Hoffman Obituary

Longtime Belmont Shore business owner and civic leader, James (Jim) Cox Hoffman passed away on March 13. He served as president of the Long Beach District Board of Realtors, chaired the Long Beach Park Commission and was active in the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Belmont Shore Business Association. He was 89.
Born at Long Beach Community Hospital on February 28, 1925 to James C. and Desdemona Hoffman. He attended Fremont Elementary, Jefferson Junior High and Wilson High Schools.
After graduating from Wilson, Jim joined the war effort with the Army Air Corps and was sent to England. He served in the 350th bomb squad of the 100th bomb group as a sergeant from 1943 to 1946. Jim received the American Campaign Medal, the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the WWII Victory Medal.
After the war he returned to Long Beach. He and his brother Gene joined their father in the real estate business. They started in sales and ended up spending most of their careers as appraisers.
As members of the Air Force reserves, both Jim (supply Sergeant) and Gene (First Sergeant) were called into service with the Korean Conflict with the 452nd Bomb Wing spending time in both Korea and Japan.
For more than 50 years, Gene and Jim worked together at J.C. Hoffman and Sons Real Estate Appraisers located in Belmont Shore. During that time, Jim taught Real Estate at Long Beach City College for more than 20 years.
In 1949, Jim married Joy Cain. They had three daughters, Debby, Donna and Candi. Joy passed away in 1972. In 1973, Jim married Jeanne Weston. Jeanne had a daughter from a previous marriage, Kristin. Jeanie passed away in 2006. A lifelong USC football fan, Jim had season tickets for almost five decades.
Jim is survived by his brother Gene, sister Helen Kelley, and daughters Debby Larsen, Donna Rodriguez, Candi McDaniel and Kristin Righetti, eight grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at St Luke's Evangelical Lutheran, 5633 E Wardlow Rd, Long Beach, CA 90808 on Saturday, March 22 at 10:30 AM. A reception celebrating Jim and his love for USC will follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the USC Marching Band, University of Southern California, 837 Downey Way, Stonier Hall B, Los Angeles CA 90089-1141 or the Fisher House Southern California,111 Rockville Pike Suite 420, Rockville, MD 20850

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Published by Gazette Newspapers from Mar. 20 to Mar. 27, 2014.

Memories and Condolences
for James Hoffman

1 Entry

March 18, 2014

JC Hoffman & Sons-Jim and Gene, were my mentors from the late 1970's. I recall taking Jim's appraisal class at Long Beach City college. Because of their effort to help me succeed in a new career, I have been a successful appraiser for over 30 years. I owe them tremendous gratitude, respect and honor. Jim and Gene drove me to VA in LA, in 1984 or 1985 and basically told the chief appraiser to put me on the approved list; and he did with no questions asked. Today, the VA is my best client. They owned the VA! Then, in the mid to late 1990's they convinced the chief appraiser to put me on the subdivision panel, which he did. I then became president of that group for a few years, always with their mentoring. That act of kindness assured me a good living through a market downturn. On top of that, I received, on a weekly basis, constant referrals from Jim and Gene, always bragging at how good of an appraiser I was. They were then and are today, my hero's. I have never known two men who possessed the same caliber of kindness, professionalism and humor as Jim and Gene Hoffman. I never saw them without a white shirt, tie and coat. They were inseparable and they enjoyed to the fullest what they did for a living. They always had a story about their dad and how they grew up. I am saddened by the end of their legacy. I will cherish them in my memory, as individuals, as long as I am around. Without question, I would not be where I am today without their help and coaching. May you rest in peace Jim, and always keep an eye out for us appraisers!!
Tom Weber

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