Longtime Ottawa County education advocate Joe Hoffer, 61, dies

by Kym Reinstadler | The Grand Rapids Press

Monday July 13, 2009, 7:26 PM

Joe Hoffer

HOLLAND -- Longtime education advocate Joe Hoffer died Monday at Hospice House of Holland from mesothelioma, a cancer in the lining of internal organs caused by exposure to asbestos.

Mr. Hoffer, 61, served 12 years on the Holland school board and did not to seek re-election in 2004. He also served eight years on the Ottawa Area Intermediate School Board, resigning in January 2008 after lung removal surgery.

Mr. Hoffer had been president of both school boards. He was also a member of The Salvation Army board, Holland Boosters Club and Michigan State University Alumni Association.

"Joe was one of the good guys who cared deeply about people, personally and professionally," said Karen McPhee, superintendent of the OAISD. "His soft spot was for students who, for whatever reason, needed non-traditional ways to earn a diploma, which he believed was so important."

Hoffer was a champion of Wavecrest Career Academy, a high school with a vocational emphasis opened in 2006. The OAISD chartered the school after member districts had to close or reduce alternative programs because of flat state funding.

"Joe was quiet and unassuming, yet tenacous as a board member," said Deb Sterken, who served with him on the Holland school board. "He was one who'd pick up the phone and initiate the conversations that build consensus."

Hoffer's concern about the future of the urban district superseded his tenure on the board. He was the spokesman for a group of businessmen who, in 2005, ran advertisements hoping to leverage progress in stalemated teacher contract negotiations.

Hoffer started the firm Hoffer & Associates in the 1980s. He worked for Great Lakes Contract Interiors from 2001 until he became ill two years ago.

Hoffer had said he traced his asbestos exposure to a summer job in a furnace factory during college.

He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Lugers Hoffer; three children, Jennifer Telgenhof and Katie Hoffer, both of Holland, and Michael Hoffer, of Naperville, Ill., and three grandchildren.

The funeral is private, but public visitation is 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at at Dykstra Funeral Homes' Mulder Chapel, 188 W. 32nd Ave.

Memorials may be made to: International Mesothelioma Program, 75 Francis St., Boston, MA, 02115.