E. Eugene "Gene" Hoffman, 99, of Farmer City, passed away Tuesday (June 19, 2018) at Farmer City Rehabilitation & Health Care Center.
Gene was born June 8, 1919, in West Township, McLean County, to E.O. Hoffman and Mary Rinehart Hoffman. He married Margaret McCarty on Oct. 27, 1946, in Farmer City. She preceded him in death in 2017.
He graduated from Moore Township High School, Farmer City; Blackburn College with an associate degree; and from the University of Illinois, College of Agriculture, with a BS degree in agricultural economics, 1941.
He was a veteran of World War II. He enlisted in the Army as a private in the quartermaster corps. He attended OCS at Fort Monmouth in the signal corps. He was sent to the European Theater where he served in the 926th Signal Battalion in England, France, Belgium, and Germany. He was discharged in 1945 with the rank of major.
He was the youth director of the Christian County Farm Bureau and a year later formed a partnership with his brother, George Hoffman, to own and operate the AB Hatchery in Farmer City. In 1961 he joined the staff of the LeRoy State Bank in the farm department as a farm manager and appraiser, becoming head of the department in 1966. He retired in 1985.
He was a member of the Farmer City Methodist Church, Farmer Masonic Lodge 710, Bloomington Consistory, The Peoria Shrine, a life member of the Illinois Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and a former member of Woodlawn Country Club. He was an avid golfer, reader, and woodworker.
He is survived by one daughter, Ellen (James) Zellmer, Blue Springs, Mo.; two sons, John (Kathy) Hoffman, Lake Tapawingo, Mo.; and William (Catherine) Hoffman, Farmer City; five grandchildren, Elizabeth (Levi) Traxler, Olathe, Kan.; Jessica (Stephen) Trotter, Palatine; Andrew Hoffman, Chicago; Jill Hoffman, Kansas City, Mo.; and Nicholas Hoffman, Kansas City, Mo.; two stepgranddaughters, Candice (David) Geen, Portland, Ore.; and Katie (Anthony) Carter, Blue Springs, Mo.; five great-grandchildren; and sister-in-law, Jean McCarty, Eureka.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret; his parents; an infant son, James Michael Hoffman; three brothers, George, Walter, and Donald Hoffman; and his brother-in-law, John McCarty.
His memorial service will be at noon Monday at Calvert-Belangee-Bruce Funeral Home, Farmer City, with Pastor Steve Anderson officiating. Inurnment will be in Maple Grove Cemetery, Farmer City, with military rites accorded. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to noon Monday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Farmer City Public Library.
