John Hoffman Jr. Obituary

John R. "Boots" Hoffman, Jr. of Boulder died on October 25, 2020, at his residence. Born on August 16, 1943, to John R. Hoffman, Sr. and Lois Muench, John grew up in Louisville, KY. Following High School, John served in the U.S. Navy as a Hospital Corpsman from 1968 to 1970 where he spent 9 months in Vietnam with the Seabees. John later went on to earn a Ph.D. in education. He had a true passion for teaching which he displayed over his 30 years as a reading teacher in the St. Vrain Valley School District. One of John's greatest achievements was helping to start the Boulder Valley Safe School Coalition, 20 years ago. Upon retiring from a career in teaching, John, a gay man, was a part of the Speaking Out program and spoke to over 9000 students about his experience growing up gay. Additionally, he spent over 18 years visiting colleges and working with middle and high school students in the Boulder Valley School District trying to educate and teach students the importance of loving themselves regardless of their sexual orientation. Private family services will be held. Contributions may be made to Out Boulder County, 1443 Spruce St. Boulder, CO 80502, or the Boulder Humane Society, 2323 55th St. Boulder, CO 80301. Please leave condolences at murphyfuneraldirectors.com.

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Published by Longmont Times-Call on Nov. 8, 2020.

Memories and Condolences
for John Hoffman Jr.

4 Entries

Lee Scriggins

November 12, 2020

John was a leader and a beacon to many many LGBTQ people and allies in Boulder County. His courage touched so many lives.

Jill and Charlie Ferguson

November 11, 2020

John was a dear neighbor to my Father. I’ve known John since I was a small girl. A few things I will never forget about him. He used to sit in his rocking chair on the front porch for hours reading. We affectionately referred to him as Rocking and Reading John. The other thing was his amazing cheesecake. To this day it’s the best I’ve ever had in my life. He was a kind soul and we will miss him.

Mary Sires

November 9, 2020

I was so saddened to hear about John Hoffman’s passing. Since retirement from the St. Vrain Valley School District I have not had a lot of contact with John, but I worked with him during my 19 years with the system while John was one of our Title One reading specialists. He was such an interesting man, but what struck me the most was that he really did want to make a difference with his students and later with individuals he came in contact with about his gayness.
The district’s newly acquired reading program gave John a new lease on his teaching life. I vividly remember his welcoming the added staff development to gain new skills to teach his struggling students and he worked very hard to be the best teacher he could be.
He also always had that smile and distinguishing laugh. And, then his sense of humor~~ you just enjoyed being around him.
I was sorry to read there would not be a celebration of John’s life as he always enjoyed social gatherings, good food and time to connect. I know he would have thoroughly enjoyed it!
RIP, my colleague and friend.

Kathleen Horning

November 9, 2020

John Hoffman was a dear man. He was so dedicated as a teacher...dedicated to his students and their learning and to his own learning on their behalf. John had a ready smile for all of us. He didn’t want us to waste a moment of learning time on frivolous side tasks. When we implemented the Literacy Lab at Rocky Mountain Elementary he was one of its strongest champions.
John was notoriously frugal with time and with resources. I still chuckle thinking how he cut M&Ms in half when he chose to use them as rewards for students who completed at home reading. He was faithful to contribute towards team gifts for weddings and babies of coworkers. It began to wear on him though as he was certain we’d never be celebrating such an event in his honor. When he announced his retirement he was immensely surprised and excited that we hosted a retirement shower for him.
John grappled with his own message about his life choices. In the end he showed the same level of dedication to his mission to help younger people have freedom and support to be who they were without having to struggle as he had.
I loved John for who he was and for his passionate dedication to his students. He will be sorely missed.

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