Vernon C. Hoffman

HOFFMAN, CASNER, GARWOOD, WHITE, KAMATA, STANHOPE, TAYLOR, ORR, DARWOOD

Posted By: dbeier (email)
Date: 1/11/2008 at 02:18:42

April 12, 1919 - June 12, 2007
INDEPENDENCE - Vernon Clare Hoffman, 88, of Independence, died of congestive heart failure June 12, 2007 at St. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids.
Vernon was born April 12, 1919 at Walker, Iowa, the son of Charles Robert Hoffman and Vena Marie Casner. He attended Polk Township Country School # 19 and graduated from Urbana High School in 1935. Only 16 years old, he enrolled at the University of Iowa and worked his way through college as a janitor, dishwasher and researcher for Professor William J. Peterson. He received a BA in 1939, a Juris Doctorate in 1941 and was admitted to the bar in 1941.
He married Amy Jane Garwood August 26, 1942, at Evergreen, CO. They first lived near Walker on a rented farm and then moved to the E. E. Quass farm March 1, 1943. Ten days later that home burned to the ground. In 1944 they purchased Hickory Grove Farm south of Aurora from the Chamberlain family. In 1978 they moved to Independence. Vernon's wife of 61 years, Jane, died May 17,2004. Vernon was a lifelong farmer, cattle breeder, and true blue Democrat. He served as director of the American Brangus Breeders Association and the Iowa and American Simmental Associations and imported from Europe the first full-blood Simmental bull into Iowa in 1972. He was one of the founders of St. Paul Dressed Beef and Northern States Beef of Omaha. While cattle were his passion, land was his hobby. A pioneer in land management, Vernon laid miles of tile, built waterways and ensured that unique areas of woodlands and marshes were protected for posterity. For him the beauty and bounty of Iowa were a challenge and an inspiration.
A lifelong learner, Vernon had many interests. Politics, history, finance, world affairs and the human condition were all topics of conversation with his friends from many walks of life. Well traveled, he had a keen interest in world cultures and read voraciously. Both student and teacher, Vernon believed in hard work, education, accountability and philanthropy and served on various Democratic Party committees and local boards. His membership in the State Historical Society spanned 65 years. He was a former director of Security State Bank and, at the time of his death, a director of Independence Bancshares, Inc.
Left to cherish his memory are three children, Jay Ranor Hoffman, Independence, Susan Marie White, Aurora, and C. Dean "Lucky" Hoffman (Kay); four granddaughters, Amy Jane Kamata (Masahiko), San Antonio,Texas; Katie Stanhope (Phillip), West Des Moines, Becky Hoffman (Ben Taylor), Westminister, Colo., and Karla Orr (Jamie), Anamosa; four great-granddaughters, Rachel Hoffman Kamata, Jane Marie Kamata, Claire Marie Stanhope and Addison Kay Orr; two sisters-in-law, Margaret Hoffman, Walker and Lorene Darwood, Evergreen, Colo.; and nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
Vernon was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, two brothers, Charles and James, and one sister, Jean.
Services will be 11 a.m. Monday,June 18, at Church of Christ United, Winthrop, with burial at Spencer's Grove Cemetery near Walker. Officiating clergy will be the Rev. Dean Schlitter and music provided by Anita and Don Bowden. A memorial fund has been established.
Friends may call from 2-6 p.m. Sunday at Fawcett's Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Winthrop.