MARGARET "Muggy" HOFFMANN

HOFFMANN MARGARET McCABE HOFFMANN Margaret McCabe Hoffmann, educator and lifelong learner, gifted counselor, tireless advocate, daughter of Ireland, poet, true blue friend, passionate grandmother, beloved wife and mother, died in McLean, VA, on February 20, 2021, at the age of 88. Born and raised in New Kensington, PA, the only child of William F. and Margaret A. McCabe, Muggy (as she was known throughout her life) attended New Ken HS ("50), and Bryn Mawr College ("54,'56) where she achieved a Bachelors and a Masters Degree in English, and worked in both the Admissions Office and the Office of the Dean of Women until 1960. She married Martin R. Hoffmann in 1961 and moved to McLean where they started their family. Throughout their life together in McLean - with brief but fruitful sojourns to Dallas, TX, Wayland, MA, and DC itself - Muggy balanced life as a busy mom and support to Marty with work in and around her favorite people - students. At the Madiera School, Mount Vernon Junior College, and the Washington International School, she worked in admissions, college counseling, and school administration. And, during the five years she and Marty lived in Wayland, she found another way into the lives of local students: by joining them at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and getting a(nother) Masters Degree, this one in Human Development and Education. At 60, she proudly stepped across the stage to receive her diploma as the oldest member of her class. All through the years, Muggy volunteered enthusiastically. She served through the 1970's on the Board of Trustees of the Potomac School, which all three of her children attended and two of her grandchildren now attend, and at which all three of her children and her two daughters-in-law have taught or are teaching. While Marty served in the Department of Defense, notably as Secretary of the Army 1974-76, together they visited US Military bases across the country and around the world - Muggy meeting with the families of service members, learning about their lives on base, and advocating for needed change. Whether alongside Marty as he worked both in the public and private sector, or pursuing her own interests in the arts, advocacy, and international humanitarianism, she brought considerable gifts to bear for decades of service across a wide array of organizations including the Boards of The Arena Stage and the Aschiana Foundation; and Capital Partners for Education, where she was both a mentor and a Board member. She and Marty maintained their connection to the US Armed Services throughout their lives - including Muggy's service with distinction on the Defense Department Advisory Committee On Women In The Services (DACOWITS) from 2004-2007. She was also a devoted member of long standing of The #1 Ladies Book Club in DC, The McLean Bee, and the McLean Foreign Policy Group. Her natural curiosity and spirit of adventure made her a perfect partner for Marty and their life took them on wonderful trips all over the world. They skied and sailed and hiked together, and when he hauled out the chain saw and struck off into the trees, she pulled out a rake and headed for the leaf pile. They loved dancing, opera and Bluegrass. She was a perfect alto to his high mountain tenor and they brought music with them wherever they went - from their beloved Barn in Virginia where they pressed cider in the fall and Marty's band played in the summer, to their hearts' home in New Mexico where they made Elk Chili and Steak and Kidney Pie every year for New Year's Day and opened the house up to one and all to come and sing the old songs again. After almost 53 years of marriage, Marty died in 2014 and a year later Muggy moved into the Vinson Hall Retirement Community where she started a new chapter of her life, solo but not alone. She gained new and treasured friendships and took fresh opportunities to continue learning. With family nearby and young grandchildren always at the ready for adventure, she was surrounded by love, energy, and community. Just the way she liked it. Muggy is survived by her children Cecil "Heidi" and Paul Slye, Bill Hoffmann and Donna Fava, and Bern and Jenni Hoffmann; her grandchildren McCabe and Sam Slye, and Park and Neelie Hoffmann; and her grandchildren-of-choice Eddy Fava and Grace McSoley, Katie Fava and Josh Basile, and great-granddaughter-of-choice Faeble Hamm. Services pending. In lieu of flowers, gifts in her memory may be made to: Capital Partners for Education 1015 15th Street NW #600 Washington DC 20005 (202) 682-6020 www.cpfe.org Aschiana Foundation PO Box 9512 Washington DC 20016 www.aschiana-foundation.org TreatNOW 6000 Executive Blvd #304 North Bethesda MD 20852 (571) 549-4258 www.treatnow.orgwww.treatnow.org