Donald Wayne Hoffman

Donald Wayne Hoffman, MBA/Ph.D., 2nd Lt - United States Air Force, passed away on January 13, 2017 in Nashville, TN. It is hard to even begin this story of my love because there is so much to tell. I think we should call this "Don's cliff notes." Donald was born December 15, 1951 to Ann (Anka) Marie Salopek Hoffman and Harold Sidney Hoffman in Camp Polk, Leesville, Louisiana. He was the sixth of seven children and the baby boy of the family. His father was a B-52 pilot in the Air Force and the family lived in Louisiana; Wichita, Kansas; Denver, Colorado; Bossier City, Louisiana; Tokyo, Japan; Dayton, Ohio; and ended up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Donald and his two brothers earned their Eagle Scout award in Dayton, Ohio. Donald attended Highland High School in Albuquerque and was involved in the ROTC. This led to a scholarship to New Mexico State University and into the Air Force where he was a Second Lieutenant. He continued his education and earned two Master's degrees in Business and later on in his 30s, earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy. I met Donald in Hobbs, New Mexico in 1987 and we worked together for some time and then found ourselves not only business partners but so in love; he was my all, my world, and we were married by my dad in Midland, Texas on December 24, 1992. It has been a love that I would hope everyone can experience in their life. I let him be him, together and separate, and he I. When we married, Donald gained a beautiful daughter, Shiela Danielle, and young son, CW. He loved them as his own. In 1997, we successfully had Abigail DawnAnn after several attempts at IVF; to the end, we have the most amazingly loving and beautiful children. In business, Donald was unstoppable. He worked incredibly hard until the end and never lost sight of his visions, for he was a visionary. No challenge he set in front of himself eluded him, from real estate development to working as the one and only GSA for Princess Cruises who lived outside of the country they represented (as he represented Russia, Bulgaria, and the Middle East). Later, he represented NCL cruises as well and continued his real estate ventures, ending up acquiring two cruise ships - the Americana and the Deutschland. Donald loved life - he loved to live life to the fullest. Prior to his 65th birthday, he was scuba diving in Cozumel. It brings us comfort knowing he was able to do the things he loved until the end. He was an avid car enthusiast and won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 2014 in his class with his Radical RXC and returned in 2016 to win 2nd place. He loved his Harley Davidson bikes and rode all over the country in recent years with his friends. He traveled all over the world and the last two years spent five months traveling the United States with Abi as she toured and performed - he wouldn't miss a show and was so proud of her as he was of our other two children. Many fun times were shared with all of our family and friends traveling all over or just having a backyard barbecue. I look at all of the photos we have of Donald and he is always smiling because that is how he lived his life. Smile when you think of him because that is what he would want. Donald is preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Ann Hoffman; brother, Harold, Jr.; and father-in-law, John Greeson. He is survived by his soul-mate, Vicki Porter-Hoffman; favorite oldest daughter, Shiela McCaffrey (husband Mark and children Meadow, Skye, and River) of Franklin, Tennessee; favorite son, Carrol Porter (children Madison, Corbin, and Colton) of Midland, Texas; and favorite youngest daughter, Abigail DawnAnn Hoffman of Nashville, Tennessee. His is also survived by his mother-in-law, Orheana Greeson of Rule, Texas; sister-in-law, Leigh Ann Greeson of Stamford, Texas; brother-in-law, Leon Greeson of Aubrey, Texas; his brothers, Robert and Bill Hoffman; and by his sisters, Judi Murphy, Gloria Smelker, and Mary Hoffman. He loved all of his family and close friends; he made friends all over the world and there isn't enough room to list everyone here but you all know who you are and he will be in your hearts until the end of time as he is in ours. Thank you for the support of our dear friends, Tom Sorrells, Dennis Santo, Khalid Al Gari, Vidya, Rikesh and Vinesh Patel, Drew Scheuer, Carissa Sanchez, Kimberly and Randy Scheuer, Starling Davis, and Helen Yu. Our cowboy has ridden away but will never be forgotten. Favorite quips from Donald: "If you want to be with me be with me," and "We are burning daylight." We will honor Donald's wish of cremation and his ashes will be set free in a very special place in Hawaii. A special Celebration of Life will be held February 11, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. in Midland, Texas at the CAF Hangar at the MAF Airport. Email for verification of arrangements vlpamera@yahoo.com. Donald was a contributing supporter of the CAF, the local law enforcement community, and veterans' organizations. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the above as well as the American Heart Association. An online guestbook is available at AustinFuneralService.com. 615-377-0775