Richard D. Hoffmann

Richard D. Hoffmann, 100, of Lima passed away at 8:49pm on Sunday, January 17, 2016 surrounded by family at Lima Memorial Hospital. His life and his many contributions were celebrated by family, friends, and members of the community at his Centennial birthday party on December 26, 2015 at Shawnee Country Club. In the weeks leading up to his birthday, he was honored with resolutions by Lima City Council and the Ohio House of Representatives. Friends and colleagues described him as “a true gentleman.”

He was born December 25, 1915 in Franklin County to Frederick H. Hoffmann and Agnes K. Hoffmann. On August 25th, 1940, he married Betty A. Metcalf. She preceded him in death on January 18, 2000.

Mr. Hoffmann attended Columbus South High school, where he majored in speech and dramatics and proudly served as the drum major, training with Ohio State’s Bill Knepper. He went on to Capital University in Columbus, Ohio while working at City Loan & Savings and did so until April of 1943 when he joined the United States Navy. Mr. Hoffmann received three battle stars for his participation in the Pacific for the battles of Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Lingayen Gulf.

In 1946, he returned to City Loan to the position of Assistant Office Manager and rose quickly among the ranks at City Loan. He came to the Lima headquarters as Director of Sales and became the Vice President of City Loan & Savings from 1959 until 1963. He became a Corporate Director and Vice President of Field Operations in 1962, was elected to the Board of Directors in 1963 and Executive Vice President in 1965, and became President and Chief Executive Officer in 1966. Mr. Hoffmann was also the Vice President in charge of consumer finance subsidiaries for Commercial Credit Company (City Loan’s parent company) in Baltimore, Maryland. He finished his career at City Loan by serving as Chairman of the Board from 1968 until 1985. In 1984, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Ohio Deposit Guarantee Fund.

He was also involved in charity organizations and active in Lima civic affairs. He served as a member of the advisory board of St. Rita’s Hospital, the American Management Association, and the National Consumer Finance Association. He also was president of the Lima Club, director of the Lima Area Chamber of Commerce, and co-chairperson of the Allen County Development fund for Bluffton College. He was a life member of the Lima Convalescent Home Foundation, belonged to Masonic Lodge #4 in Worthington, Ohio, and was a member of the VFW. Mr. Hoffmann also served as the president of the Greater United Way of Lima, as chairman of the Lima Rotary Foundation, and as chairman of the Advisory Committee for Ohio State University at Lima. He was a member of Shawnee Country Club, the BPO Elks Club Lima #54, Trinity United Methodist Church, and was a longtime member of the Ohio State University Presidents’ Club.

He was preceded in death by: his parents; his brothers, Fred and Karl; his wife Betty; his son, Thomas Hoffmann; and his daughter, Deborah Foster.

Survivors include: his daughter, Linda Patton of Lima; his sons, John (Terri) Hoffmann of Woodburn, Oregon and Matthew (Sheila) Hoffmann of Columbus, Ohio; his daughter-in-law, Nancy (Tom) Hoffmann and his son-in-law Larry (Debbie) Foster. He is also survived by nine grandchildren: Angela (Tod) Simpson of Lima; Stephanie Patton of Lima; Meredith Foster of Lima; Kelly Phillips of Columbus, Ohio; Katherine (Edward) Anderson of Santa Barbara, California; Abigail (David) Karam of Peninsula, Ohio; Elizabeth Patton of Columbus, Ohio; Zachary Hoffmann of Bedford, Ohio, and Mark Hoffmann of Portland, Oregon. He was blessed with nine great-grandchildren – Chaz Foster, Monet Whirl, Bryanna Simpson, Tylyn Simpson, Ethan James, Marvin Phillips, Elijah Karam, Magnolia Karam, and Parker Hoffmann – and two great-great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be on Thursday, from 3 until 7 p.m. at Siferd-Orians Funeral Home. His funeral will begin at 2 p.m., Friday, Jan. 22, 2016, in the funeral home, with Rev. David Harris officiating. Burial will follow in Woodlawn Cemetery, Lima, where military rites will be conducted by V.F.W. Post 1275 and the Navy Honor Guard.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to local charities such as the Allen County Humane Society and the Allen County Council on Aging.

Condolences may be expressed online at www.siferd-oriansfuneralhome.com