Obituaries

Ervin Hoffman

Ervin J. Hoffman, 100, of Mexico, died Tuesday, July 20, 2010, at Golden Living Center/Pin Oaks, where he had been for one day. He was able to live at home up to the time of this illness. Mr. Hoffman was born August 15, 1909. a son of John Fred and Mary (Niewald) Hoffman, above his father's general store in Ryors, Mo. On June 4, 1930, he married Elsie Krauss, who preceded him in death. He was married to Rose Ione Gilpin Darby on July 2, 1942, in Columbia, Mo., she preceded him death on June 14, 2005. He is survived by two daughters, Pamela Gohil and husband David, Holts Summit, and Rosa (Rose Marie) Mickelson, Fremont, Calif.; one daughter-in-law, Marty Darby Campbell and husband Dwight, Mexico; eight grandchildren, Brian Gohil, Sheila Jane Larkins, Lucy Crockett, Phyllis Justina Farris, Anne Vogee, Russell Mickelson, Mickey Darby and John Darby; and 14 great-grandchildren, six great-great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews including Dorcas Holtsmith and Betty Sommerer. In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by two sisters, Lydia Hoffman Gemeinhardt and Tilitha Hoffman Mueller; three brothers, Emil Theodore "Ted" Hoffman, Martin "Pete" Hoffman, and Walter John "Jim" Hoffman; one son, Gary Lee Hoffman; one stepson, William G. "Bill" Darby; and one niece, Rhonda Hoffman Amelon. Mr. Hoffman was a lifelong Lutheran and a member of St. John's Lutheran Church since 1946, where he had held the offices of Congregation President and an elder. He served a number of years as Treasurer of the Mexico Chamber of Commerce, was an active member in the Lions Club for 70 years, and while in Mexico, served as president and zone chairman. After working on an uncle's farm as a teenager, he began working for Kroger in Jefferson City and later became a District Manager. In 1946, he came to Mexico and started Hoffman's IGA with his late brother, Walter "Jim," which was later known as Darby's IGA/Darby's Country Mart. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 24, 2010, at St. John's Lutheran Church, with the Pastor Joel Kruger officiating. Visitations will be from 5 until 8 p.m. on Friday at Pickering Funeral Home and from 9:30 until 10:30 Saturday morning at the church. Burial will be in East Lawn Memorial Park. The family suggests memorials be made to St. John's Lutheran Church and they may be sent in care of Pickering Funeral Home, 403 N. Western, Mexico, MO 65265. Expressions of sympathy may be offered at www.pickeringfh.com

Published July 21, 2010