Hans Joachim Mayerhofer

Hans was born in 1937 to Jakob and Franziska (Ittstein) Mayerhofer in Stuttgart, Germany. He was 17 years old when he and his mother immigrated to the United States following the death of his father. They settled in Carroll, Iowa, where his sister, Franziska had gone with her new husband following the war. He attended Keumper High School where he met Beverly Boje with whom he would later celebrate 46 years of marriage before her passing in 2006. Hans studied at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and transferred to the University of Missouri in Columbia where he completed his doctorate in Microbiology in 1970.

Over his career, he worked for Pfizer in Terre Haute, IN, American Cyanamid, Danbury, Connecticut, Syntex Opthalmics in Phoenix, AZ and finally, Syntex Pharmaceuticals (eventually becoming Roche) in Palo Alto, CA. Upon retiring in 1997, he and Bev moved to Placerville to be near their grandchildren.

Hans served as a STAR with the El Dorado County Sherriff’s office. He loved to play golf and was a member of the Cold Springs Country Club, but when his health kept him from the course, he rekindled his love of the card game bridge and he played in multiple groups with his dear friend and constant companion, Sydney Tyler. He enjoyed wine tasting outings and his church community.

Hans is survived by his two daughters, Heidi Leveroni and Gretchen Mayerhofer, his son-in-law, Ben Leveroni and his grandchildren Jacob, Nicole and Sarah Leveroni and Taylor Mayerhofer. He was preceded in death by his wife, Beverly, his brother Fritz, and sister Franziska.