Jane was born in Hartford WI, on October 12, 1938. She was preceded in death by her parents, Gordon and Minerva Riley (Blank), her husband, Dr. William C. “Phil” Hoffmann, a stepson, Alex “Laddy” Hoffmann, and grandson Shay Hoffmann. Jane was the first of five children of Gordon and Minerva Riley of Hartford.
She is survived by four siblings, June Becker (Hartford), Pat Korth and husband Fred (Muskego), Barb Dettman (Hartford), and Mike Riley (Land ‘O Lakes); seven children, Julie (Hoffmann) Eckl (Bloomfield Hills, MI), Eric “Rick” Hoffmann (Slinger), Geoff Hoffmann (Oak Creek), Kurt Hoffmann, (Deerfield, IL), Jeff Schneider (Colorado Springs, CO), Stacey (Hoffmann) Herring (The Villages, FL), Mark Schneider (Bear Lake, MI); and their spouses; 16 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.
Jane graduated second in her class from Hartford High School in 1956. She attended Milwaukee County Nursing School’s 3-year program, graduated in 1959 as an RN, and moved back to Hartford where she practiced as an RN at the Hartford Hospital and the Hartford Clinic.
In 1959, she married Glenn Schneider of Hartford. Together they had two children, Mark and Jeff Schneider. She later divorced and in 1970 she married widower Dr. William C. “Phil” Hoffmann. Dr. Hoffmann brought with him six children from his previous marriage, Julie, Rick, Alex “Laddy”, Geoff, Kurt, and Stacey. Jane and Phil were married for 27 years until his death in 1998.
Jane’s hobbies included reading, crossword puzzles, sewing; cross-stitch, knitting and crochet. She took up golf for a time after all the children were out of the house. Although not very athletic, she was rather adventurous, having ridden tractors, horses and helicopters, water skied, sailed on Lake Michigan, parasailed in Mexico, and whitewater rafted in Colorado.
She volunteered for several causes over the course of her life including the United Methodist Church of Hartford of which she was a member for 80 years. She was baptized at the Methodist church on Church street and attended the United Methodist Church her entire life. She served on many committees and was active in the organization of United Methodist Women.
She was also a volunteer for many years at Ronald McDonald House in Milwaukee and the Hartford History room in Hartford City Hall. She was a Hartford hospital “pink lady” and she was a frequent blood donor, earning many commendations for the volume of her donations over the years like her father, Gordon.
A viewing will be held at Shimon Funeral Home in Hartford on Saturday, October 10 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. A private graveside service for family will follow at St. Kilian Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in her honor to the First United Methodist Church of Hartford (www.fumchartford.com ), the Alzheimer’s Association and Ronald McDonald House Charities (www.rmhc.org ).
Special thanks to The Cottages of West Bend for its professional and compassionate care of Jane over the past several years. We are forever grateful.