Francis Mark Hoffman, LTC (Ret.)
June 8, 1948 – October 16, 2024
Fun Facts about Mark:
Mark was born and raised in the Black Hills of South Dakota. He grew up stream fishing and snow skiing from an early age. He was a high school wrestler and discovered pinball at the local pizza joint. Weeks before graduating from Lead High School, he met Kathy Castor at a dance. Her mother often called her Katie and when they began dating, he called her Kate, which he thought was “classier”. She became Katie to all but her father during her college and adult years. Several times when dating, he nearly stood her up because of . . . pinball; he was a dedicated pinhead in high school and college. This fascination will return and define one of Mark’s interests.
He graduated from the SD School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, with a degree in Chemistry in 1971. He participated in ROTC, first, because of a patriotic obligation as his father was in the Navy and second, because of the monthly stipend. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He remained stateside so he and Kate could marry at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he was in Airborne training. Immediately following completion, he was stationed at an engineer battalion, Camp Eschborn, outside of Frankfurt, West Germany, for five years. He drank German beer, his favorite was Henniger, and feasted on German cuisine, especially pork knuckle; later European travels often included a stop in Germany for favorite foods and beer. Additional assignments included Virginia (18 months), Kansas (Fort Riley, eight years and Fort Leavenworth, five years), Korea (13 months), and Florida (MacDill AFB, two years) where he retired after 22 years of service as a Lieutenant Colonel. Katie was an educator and they decided to remain in Tampa. Mark then attended the University of South Florida and received a degree in Medical Technology. His attention to detail and following protocols fit this career choice at Tampa General Hospital perfectly. He retired in 2012 and joined Katie in Bozeman who had relocated here in 2009.
Let’s return to Mark’s dedication to pinball: in the mid 1980’s, Mark renewed his interest and began purchasing machines, first from Black Hills Amusement, Deadwood, SD, during a visit with his mother. His search was successful and ongoing for many years, He became fascinated with vintage machines and found a treasure trove in Tampa. He bought, sold, and traded machines for more than 25 years. Please understand, Katie was not a fan.
How did the Hoffmans decide to retire in Montana? There was no way they were going to grow old with the threat of annual Tampa Bay tropical storms and hurricanes. Because of Mark’s interest in fishing, forget fly fishing as it was “too much work” so looking at rivers, and skiing, and Katie’s insistence on a university town, her dad told them to forget Colorado and look at a map of Montana and locate the areas that met their criteria. The search led to Bozeman and they never looked back. They sat on the front porch during blue sky afternoons for a daily happy hour and when the weather cooled, moved inside to relish fireside-happy hours. Mark was invited to join a weekly men’s coffee group but initially declined because he didn’t drink coffee; eventually, he agreed and took his can of diet Dr Pepper as his beverage of choice. He truly enjoyed Wednesday mornings in the park or at Rosauer’s for conversation about sports, travel, Bozeman issues, and other guy stories. Mark appreciated many friendships through Katie’s P.E.O. Chapter CE and its social activities during his time in Bozeman. Mark filled Katie’s life with laughter and love.
Mark was a traveler and took full advantage during retirement. He was a fan of river cruises with Viking and then branched out to ocean cruises with whichever cruise line had appealing itineraries. He visited numerous western national parks and had a bucket list to continue his exploration of these natural wonders. Road trips to visit family and Army friends in SD, Kansas, and Missouri were a highlight during summers.
Mark found a red 1971Triumph GT6+ on eBay and couldn’t resist buying it, driving it to Bozeman from the Los Angeles area in August with no air conditioning. During his senior year at SDSM&T and early years in Germany, he owned a yellow 1970 Triumph GT6+ which was the motivation to relive his love of driving a sports car. Katie and Mark took advantage of cruising around Gallatin Valley country roads during summers. Thanks to Jule Blanco Boskey for donating her third car garage as “Annie’s” home, so named by her granddaughters. Last year, he gifted the car to his nephew who drove Annie to Upper Peninsula, Michigan.
Dogs, and more dogs over the years. Mark’s love of dogs began with the first dog, a rescue German Shepherd from Camp Eschborn, that returned to the U.S. in 1976 with him and from then on, rescue dogs have been his choice. Currently, he has a rescue Border Collie, Roxy, whom he nurtured for ten years.
Mark was at Minneapolis Heart Institute for a cardiac procedure but suffered from ongoing complications and died of cardiac arrest on October 16, 2024. He has dealt with heart disease for many years, surviving a heart attack in 2016 and a cardiac arrest in 2021; he was attentive in taking care of his health. His father died of a heart attack at 43 years old while driving home from a doctor’s appointment, leaving a widow with four small children. Mark was preceded in death by his parents and a younger brother. He is survived by Katie, a brother and family, and a sister and family, both in Rapid City, SD, a sister-in-law in Pierre, SD, a sister-in-law and family in Albuquerque, NM, and several nieces and nephews.
Donations can be made to Shriners Children’s Hospital, 4400 Clayton Ave, St Louis, MO 63110. A longtime military friend for fifty years, Bob Berry, who served with Mark at Camp Eschborn, Germany, is the Chairman of the Board of Governors. Mark donated to his fundraiser, Racket Ruckus, for years. As one who appreciated fishing and as a veteran, Mark supported Warriors and Quiet Waters, 351 Evergreen Drive, Ste A, Bozeman, 59715, as a favorite local charity.
Burial will take place at a later date at Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis, SD.
Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service. www.dokkennelson.com [dokkennelson.com]
