Jack Hoffman

Jack Arnold Hoffman, 90, of Reva, died on Sunday, Feb. 8, at Dogwood Village in Orange, with his wife of 57 years, Kathleen Hoffman, with him. He is also survived by a much-loved daughter, Jennifer Allison Hoffman of Culpeper.

Jack was the son of Bowman Henry Hoffman and Fannie Ruth Rosser, both natives of Madison County, and like most Madison Hoffmans, traced his family line back to the Germanna colonies. He grew up in Richmond, but spent many of his early summers with his grandparents, Robert Marcellus Rosser and Fannie Ruth Rosser, in Criglersville. He later went to high school in Madison for a while, but his favorite thing about the county was the chance to see his cousins, Joan Hoffman Johnson and Clay Penn, who acted often as a big sister and brother. They predeceased him. He worked for more than 30 years in the bridge section of the Virginia Department of Transportation, and then for the engineering firm of Greenman-Pedersen Inc.

He loved his family, sports, dogs, gardening and his seven acres on the north end of Madison County, where he and Kathleen lived for almost 50 years. But perhaps his most intense and lasting attachment was baseball. His father moved frequently, and when he got to high school his favorite sport helped him find his place. He played with the Madison County High School Indians, and then in Richmond with the very successful Hermitage High Panthers.

The highlight of his career was with Randolph-Macon College. He was first baseman for the Yellow Jackets team that won the 1955 State Little Seven championship, as well as the division title of the Mason-Dixon Conference. Not willing to drop baseball after he left school, he played with the Madison Blue Jays of the Valley League. They did their share of winning and snagged some championships, and Jack was always there. At the 2000 reunion of the team at Graves Mountain Lodge, a retired player remembered vividly the first season they played at Madison's new field. He recalled that year to Madison Eagle editor Greg Glassner, for an article on the reunion, "Jack Hoffman had one of the best seasons I ever saw. He hit so many line drives he wore them out."

The newspaper reported that there was a moment of silence at the reunion for the players who had died, and player Bobby Tucker glanced upward and said "I hope we'll all get to play ball together again some day." Jack's final games in the 70s were with a pickup team in Culpeper organized by Donnie Johnston, but for sure he would be available at first base for the Blue Jays.

A graveside service will be held in Monticello Memory Gardens, Charlottesville, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 2 p.m.