HOFLER, John R., Jr. 1917-2013

HOFLER, EDEL, SCHELL, GRAPER

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 5/13/2013 at 12:39:04

John R. Hofler Jr.

Nora Springs, Iowa — John R. Hofler Jr., of Nora Springs, Iowa, died April 17, 2013, in Monterey, California, where he was visiting his son and daughter-in-law, Thomas and Joanne Hofler. He was 95 years old.

The son of John T. and Ida M. Hofler, John R. Hofler Jr. was born July 30, 1917, on the family farm seven miles northeast of Nora Springs. The farm had been purchased by John Jr.’s great-grandfather, Anton Hofler Sr., in 1870 and is still owned by the family.

John T. Hofler Sr. founded the Hofler Seed Company in 1912 and moved his family to Nora Springs in 1920. John Jr. graduated from Nora Springs High School in 1935 and later attended St. Louis University’s School of Commerce and Finance. In 1938, he joined the Hofler Seed Company as a partner with his father.

Inducted in the Army in 1942, John was sent to Camp Roberts in California. On December of that year, he married Louise L. Edel of Mason City at the San Miguel Mission near Camp Roberts. He later attended the Army Administrative School at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. During World War II, John was master sergeant of the 743rd Railway Operating Battalion and was stationed in Antwerp, Belgium. He received an honorable discharge from the Army in 1946.

After World War II, John joined with his sister and brother-in-law, Oleva and Clarence Schell, to transform the Hofler Seed Company from a retail to a wholesale operation, which soon became the largest independent seed dealership in Iowa. In 1981, the business was sold to Plant Resources Venture Fund and later to Dow Chemical.

Together with his wife, Louise, John enjoyed his retirement years by water skiing, sailing and entertaining friends at Clear Lake, Iowa, where they owned a cottage.

Louise Hofler died in 2006. John R. Hofler Jr. was also preceded in death by his parents and his two sisters, Loretta Graper and Oleva Schell.

He is survived by his three sons and daughter-in-law: Jerry of Minneapolis, Robert of Los Angeles, and Thomas and Joanne of Monterey.

The funeral will be held Saturday, May 18, at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Family Catholic Church in Mason City.

Source: Mason City Globe Gazette, May 13, 2013

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NOTES:

Burial was in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Osage, Iowa, with his wife, Louise.

Photo of his tombstone on GPP
 

Floyd Obituaries maintained by LaVern Velau.
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