Eric Hoffman

Eric Hoffman My beloved husband Eric Hoffman passed away on November 30, 2008, after a long and courageous battle with metastatic liver cancer. He was 60 years old. Eric was born in Brooklyn, NY on March 17, 1948, to Lyla Goldfarb-Hoffman and Henry Hoffman. Born on St. Patrick's Day, he developed a strange attachment to corn beef and cabbage, all his life. He was preceded in death by his beautiful son Nik, his sister Xena, and his mother Lyla. He is survived by his loving wife Susan Mintz of Oakland and children Billie Delaney Hoffman of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Maximilian Michael Andres Hoffman, of Oakland, CA, his father Henry Hoffman of New York, and his sister Kay Elise Allen of Grass Valley, CA. Eric left New York to attend the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated with a B.A. in History in 1973. He later went on to Golden Gate School of Law and passed the California Bar in 1988. Eric practiced law for a short time before he became ill and began his long fight with liver disease. Eric was a person of strong moral and social convictions. He was an active supporter of the goals of the Black Panther Party and worked in their community-based programs in Berkeley in the early 1970s. He was a committed union activist for the International Association of Machinists and worked as a shop steward, a business agent and organizer for Local 284 and District 115 of the I.A.M. During his time in the I.A.M., Eric played a key role in democratic reforms that led to elections of business agents. In the early 1980s, when a wave of plant closings hit the Bay Area, Eric was a leader in the founding and work of the Bay Area Plant Closures Project, an organization made up of union and community organizers. As a result of Eric's work and the work of others, many of the goals of the Plant Closures Project such as advance notice of plant closings and remaining rights for workers were eventually enacted into law. His strong commitment to social activism continued through law school and eventually into his own practice as a lawyer defending immigrant rights. This dedication lasted until he was forced by illness to leave his practice. In many ways Eric's long struggle mirrored his social activism. His support for organ donor programs and his leadership of a Hepatitis C support group helped many individuals other than himself. In addition, everyone he spoke to was encouraged (always in the strongest terms) to become an organ donor. For years he carried his organ donar sign-up cards in his pocket and finally received his own "ultimate gift" of a transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. The additional eight years of life he received through organ donation were not only a gift to Eric, but to his family and friends as well. He will leave a great hole in all of our lives. In loving memory of Eric and his love of local sports teams, his family and friends say "Go Niners, go A's and go Sharks." He would have liked that! A tribute to Eric and a chance for family and friends to reminisce about his life will be held at his home Jan. 18, 2009. Special thanks to Eric's two caregivers, Leata Fekumi Halaifonua (Kumi) and Toakase Attomana (Toa) for their warm, loving care and consideration.