Dick Hofmann
Our sympathy to Aunt Arlene and to Linda, Steve, and Lisa and all of their families.
My first memory of Uncle Art was as a young boy when we went to Waterloo, Iowa for a family visit. Uncle Art took us to see the Waterloo Blackhawks minor league baseball team play and we did other fun stuff. So right from the beginning, when you got together with Uncle Art, it meant there was going to be some fun. That remained true to the end. He loved a good laugh and loved to tease, especially if you were a Gators fan in his Hurricanes home.
My family has been fortunate to live close to Uncle Art for the past decade so we had many family gatherings. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and birthdays just won’t be the same. You always came away from those times with a good feeling.
Uncle Art was very willing to tell stories from his life, including his years as a bomber pilot during World War II, which fascinated all of us, especially my children. He told about his crew getting their B-24 in Kansas to fly to their overseas base. They had to make a fueling stop in Nova Scotia before heading to southern Italy. He told of the tremendous storm that dumped two feet of snow after landing there and it delayed their departure. While flying over the Atlantic the plane kept getting closer to the water when they realized the German U-boats were probably jamming their navigation system and they pulled up in time. By the time they got to Italy, his group’s bombing campaigns against the Nazi/Romanian oil refineries and fuel tank farms was over. The USA lost 222 bombers during those missions.
We were all proud of Uncle Art’s military service and he was truly one of the “Greatest Generation”. He was so happy to be a participant of the Honor Flight with fellow WW II veterans to visit the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. and be honored by Americans all along the way.
His love of his high school sweetheart Arlene is a great romance story. They would sneak INTO the high school at night so they could share a kiss out of the public. As soon as the war was over they were married and celebrated their 74th anniversary last June.
Uncle Art was a friend to so many people and always had a good word for them with a bit of friendly ribbing. He will be missed for his smiles, laughs, positive nature, and the fun that he brought every day.
Dick Hofmann