Walter Eldon Hoff

Walter Eldon Hoff, age 92, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Monday, December 8, 2025. Born December 29, 1932 in Gill, Colorado, he was the son of the late Conrad and Elizabeth Hoff. He attended school in Kersey where he was a multisport athlete all four years of high school. Walter was drafted into the US Army during the Korean War. After training in Fort Bliss Texas, he served as a radar specialist in London, England receiving Good Conduct and National Defense Service Medals. After completing his time in the service, he returned to the Greeley area and bought some acres to farm, thinking he would follow in his father’s profession. He quickly realized that was not what he was meant to do, and used his GI Bill to attend the Colorado State College in Greeley. He moved to Rifle, Colorado, for his first teaching job at Rifle High School in 1962 and stayed there until his retirement in 1991. Walter taught math of all levels and coached football, basketball, baseball, golf and girls’ softball during his tenure at RHS. He also had Garfield County School District’s first in class computer – a Radio Shack TRS80 in 1978. Coaching football was one of his greatest joys. He was actively involved in his community as a member of the Elks club, a post commander for the VFW, a board member for Rifle Metropolitan Parks District, and the HOA board at Monument Glen in Fruita for over 20 years. Walter was a master gardener growing stunning flowers and huge vegetable gardens every year, still a farmer on a smaller scale. He kept an immaculate yard and loved to golf in his younger years. He was one of a group of men that brought the Rifle Creek Golf Course to life, helping to build what is now the back nine holes of the current course. At any given time, he would be reading about or watching sports of all kinds. The Detroit Lions were his favorite football team, but he rooted for all the Colorado sports teams, including the Broncos, every week. Coach Hoff was a logical, meticulous man, with a dry wit, but also a soft touch especially when it came to his grandchildren and he never missed a game any of them played. He was also quietly charitable to many organizations and never had so much as a parking ticket in his life.

He was preceded in death by his parents Conrad and Elizabeth Hoff, two sisters and a brother, and his son Gary Allen.

Walter is survived by his wife of 56 years, Linda, daughter Colleen (Michael) Flack, son Scott (Mariah) Allen, grandchildren: Christian (Katie) O’Shaughnessy, Mikayla Flack, Kassandra (Brandon) Cash, Leah Allen, Tony (Francesca) Allen, Melissa Allen and Lyndsay Allen, as well as 16 great grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held at Brown’s Funeral Home, on Friday, December 19, 2025 at 3pm. 904 N 7th Street, Grand Junction CO 81501. He will be interred at a later date in the Rifle Rosehill Cemetery.

Please consider making a memorial contribution in Walter’s name to: The VFW heroes.vfw.org.