Obituary of Robert Hoffer

Robert (Bob) Frederick Hoffer passed away peacefully Nov. 13, 2011, at his home in Cataldo. He was born the eldest of four children in McCall on May 21, 1931. Bob was raised in Wieser and left to join the U.S. Army when he was a young man. After a tour in the U.S. Army, he had a subsequent tour in the U.S. Air Force. His military service took him as far as Greenland where he worked on an icebreaker. After completion of his military service he was employed as an operations engineer. His career took him to a myriad of places in Alaska, Washington and Oregon. He worked on several dams including The Dalles, Chief Joseph, Dworshak and Lost Creek. He began a family in 1960 with Joan Tibesar. Bob was a devoted father and is survived by two sons and three step-sons: Dave Hoffer of Hayden Lake, Chris (Liberty) Hoffer of Post Falls, Ronald Freer of Mullan and Robert Freer of North Carolina. One of Bob's greatest joys in life was being a grandparent, and is survived by grandchildren Ben and Brandi Freer, and Joe and Ashley Hoffer. Bob is survived by five great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. He was also affectionately referred to as Grandpa or Uncle by many other children in the community that adored him. Bob was loved by his community. He never turned a visitor away at his door. Neighbors knew they could count on Bob to be there to give a helping hand when needed. He had many interests and loved spending time in the outdoors gathering firewood, fishing, cycling, hunting, birdwatching or perhaps just enjoying the sun. He was a talented welder, a wonderful storyteller and an avid reader. Most often you would find him reading about history. He was proud to have celebrated his 80th birthday this year, and friends and family were blessed to have celebrated it with him. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, at The American Legion Hall, 110 N. Hill St., Kellogg.