Judith A. Hof

Judith A Hof, age 76, baptized into the hope of Christ's resurrection on Friday, December 22, 2023. Beloved wife of William B. Hof; loving mother of Diane (Dean) Little, Elizabeth Hof, William M. (Margaret) Hof, and Christopher (Becky) Hof; dear grandmother of Chandler (Naomi) Little, Aaron Little, Danielle Little, Jackson Willmann, Sydney Willmann, Ryan Willmann, Cecelia Hof, William J. Hof, Christopher J. Hof, Allison Hof, Nicholas Hof, Matthew Hof, and Isabella Hof; dear sister of Joseph (Marilyn Barfort) Kral III; our dear aunt, cousin, and friend to many.

SERVICES: Visitation 4-8pm Thursday, December 28, 2023 Hoffmeister Colonial Mortuary 6464 Chippewa, St. Louis,MO 63109. Funeral from Hoffmeister Colonial at 9:30am for Mass at 10am Friday, December 29, 2023 Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church 6596 Smiley Ave, St. Louis, MO 63139. Interment Resurrection Cemetery. Memorial contributions to St. Vincent de Paul c/o Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church or Masses are preferred.

Eulogy for Judy Hof: 7/25/47 - 12/22/23

Wow, what an awesome sight! It’s wonderful to see all of you gathered here in honor of my Mom, Judy Hof. I can feel her presence with us and know that she is overjoyed you chose to be here today to not only celebrate her life, but more importantly to celebrate and rejoice because of Christ’s victory over death. As most of you know, Mom was a very faith filled person and shared her faith both in word and deed to those around her. She knew that Jesus Christ was her reason for both living and dying. She spent her days here on earth being the hands and feet of Christ. She was obedient in her task to preach the gospel and cooperate with Christ to love and serve others.

Mom was many things to many people. She was first a daughter and sister; then later, a student, friend, employee, wife, mother, aunt, and grandmother. While I would like to delve into each of her roles, I'll restrict myself to just a few. I'd like to begin by discussing her role as an employee. After graduating from SLU in 1969 with an A. B. degree in Mathematics, she went to work for Monsanto Company as a COBOL computer programmer. At the time, she stood at the forefront of the computer boom within the corporate world. She was a young woman in an extremely male dominated industry and company. There was a time her boss asked her how long a project would take to complete. She told him six months. He said it needed to be completed faster than that, and that they would put more people on it. She, a woman recently out of college, had to go to this boss and tell him that throwing people at the situation would not speed the process up. Instead, she suggested that maybe they should look at how the information is gathered and entered into the system. She was able to help them successfully identify a point in the process they were already doing that would provide the backup information they were looking for. Mom performed exceptionally well at Monsanto and proved to be a valuable asset to the company for many years.

However, after becoming a mother for the fourth time, she desired to be at home with her children. She selflessly elected to step away from the corporate world and turn her focus to her family. Together, she and dad decided that he would be the sole earner working at HOF Construction and she would take care of the kids and household. Both of our parents made many sacrifices while we were growing up and Mom was meticulous with keeping their finances in order. She would write down in a large black binder literally every single penny they spent so that their budget would stay intact. I'm certain that binder is still tucked away somewhere in their house. It would be fascinating to compare the costs of items from 50 years ago to today.

Although it required considerable effort, Mom believed in the importance of preparing a hot breakfast for us every day, consisting of eggs, bacon, and toast. It was routine for us to sit down as a family, pray and eat together before rushing out to start the day. She made sure that our lunches were packed for school and she would be at home when we returned from school to help with any homework we were struggling with. I vividly remember learning my spelling words with her each week, which I’m sure contributes to my love of the written English language to this day. Every night, as she did with breakfast, she would cook a hot meal for all of us to share, usually involving some type of meat, potatoes, and either canned corn or canned green beans. You see, dad is a pretty picky eater, so finding meals that he would enjoy proved to be a bit of a challenge I’m sure, but she did so without complaint. That’s just how Mom was, she didn’t complain much. She knew what she had to do, and did so.

As a mother, she always pushed us to be our best and do our best. She taught us the importance of family, the value of an education, the sacredness of holiday traditions, and the role of discipline in our lives. Mom ran a tight ship in our household. We each had assigned chores to complete daily or weekly, whether it was washing dishes, mopping the kitchen floor, cleaning bathrooms, folding laundry, dusting or vacuuming. We understood that it was our responsibility to contribute to the upkeep of the house. We also knew that we needed to be at the breakfast table by a certain time each morning and at the dinner table by 5:30 in the evening. We had rules on what TV shows we could and couldn’t watch, what music we were allowed to listen to and what types of clothes we could buy and wear. As we grew older, we also had curfews and rules for driving in cars with our friends. We knew that Saturday mornings were reserved for doing our chores before we could go out “to play”. And above all, it was an unspoken rule that we were to attend Mass on Sunday. No if, ands or buts about it. Dad took the boys to the early 7:00 Mass and Mom took the girls to the 9:00 Mass. We had breakfast together in between, which occasionally featured a special treat of donuts that Dad would bring home after Mass. Sunday breakfast was always a special time for us.

As time passed, and we kids became more independent, Mom decided she wanted to use her skills and talents to become an elementary computer teacher at Epiphany school. Again, she pretty much had to figure out this role herself. She was responsible for coming up with the curriculum and how to present it. She had to purchase the computers, configure them all, build and set up all of the desks and chairs, and maintain the equipment back in the 1980s and 90s when computers were just starting to flourish. She gave so much time and most likely money, to make all of this the best it could be for her students. She always warned how she thought networking computers together could be very dangerous while the concept was still in its infancy. Clearly, viruses, hacking, and other malicious attacks have proven this to be the case. Mom was a very smart, astute woman. In fact, she was so in tune with the computing world before it ballooned, that back in 1975 she told her investment broker that she thought it might be a good idea to invest in a small startup company called Microsoft. The broker was able to talk her out of that silly idea and put her money into some other much more reliable company. If only…but she was never really upset about it. She knew God had a plan for everything.

Mom remained teaching at Epiphany for several years before she decided to try her hand at preparing taxes for H & R Block. Her passion for math and precision, combined with her eagerness to assist others, made her an ideal fit for this role. She was one of the top tax preparers for her office and many of her clients came back to her year after year for assistance. She enjoyed the puzzle solving it involved in trying to find every nickel for every client she could, so Uncle Sam would have that much less. She was extremely thorough and stayed current with all of the tax law changes every single year. In fact, she was even taking some classes through this past October as she was undergoing her second round of Cancer treatments. She wanted to be ready for when tax season came. Just last week she even talked about making it to January so dad could file his return as “married jointly” the following year. Even while she was dying, she was still thinking of others. Mom found much enjoyment in doing taxes and working with those around her. She made many good friends during those years.

Along these same lines of helping others, Mom was known for her charitable giving. In addition to financially supporting her parish, she regularly gave generously to more than 25 charities each year. Some of her favorites were St. Vincent de Paul Society, Missouri Right to Life Education Fund, Operation Food Search, Focus on the Family, and the Couple-to-Couple League. She knew she had been abundantly blessed by God and in turn wanted to bless others. We, as her family, are going to continue directing contributions to her favorite organizations as she would have wanted.

Mom was not only generous with her resources, but was also giving of her time. Over the years she has served on many committees and been a member of various groups at Epiphany parish. She has met regularly with the Bible Study group there for as long as I can remember and dad joined with her later in life. I know this is one activity they both enjoyed tremendously. Every Sunday, their group would gather to discuss Scripture, share some snacks, and sooner or later would find themselves socializing about the events happening in each other’s lives. This was extremely enriching for both of them. It was a way for them to not only pray for others but to also have others pray for them. Mom was also a member of the Finance Committee and the choir. She has been a lector and server at Mass. She’s brought communion to the homebound. She’s helped organize many Flea Markets and Seder Suppers in addition to volunteering her time at the parish picnics and fish fries.

This past September, Mom and Dad celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary. Dad often expresses his disbelief at how quickly time has passed. In the past month, he has shared numerous fond memories of the time he spent with Mom. He remembers back to their early years of dating when it seemed as if fate brought them together. They were set up on a blind date by friends and had a really nice time together. However, as fate had it, they had to part ways for many months. Eventually their paths crossed again through the work of The Holy Spirit, and they began dating on a regular basis. The rest is history. Over the years, they've enjoyed many fun activities together, including going to dances, picnics, and parties. They shared fun family times at the Zoo, Grant's Farm, Six Flags, hanging out at the HOF farm, playing volleyball in the summer, taking vacations to Kentucky, boating on the lake, and the annual Balloon Glow in Forest Park. In recent years, they spent many mornings sipping coffee on their front porch after attending daily Mass, chatting with passing neighbors, and enjoying concerts in the park during warmer weather. They took numerous trips to visit various lighthouses and covered bridges, day trips to admire the beauty of the leaves changing colors in the Fall and an annual drive to Our Lady of The Snows to witness the thousands of beautiful lights at Christmas time. They recognized the precious time that God had granted them to share together and made the most of it.

Not only did they enjoy each other’s company, but were also privileged of being blessed with 13 wonderful grandchildren who enriched their lives. In addition to babysitting them when they were younger, they were regular attendees at all of their sporting events, plays, concerts, Grandparent’s Days at school, birthday parties and graduations. Despite undergoing her Chemo treatments, Mom was able to witness her oldest grandchild's wedding this past September. She did a wonderful job reading the Lord’s Word at their Mass, and I know this was something she truly treasured. The last time our entire family gathered together was just two days before she passed away. We shared a meal, talked about the events in our lives, and simply cherished the time spent together. I know this meant a lot to Mom.

If it hasn't been made clear by now, Mom's top priorities were faith and family. I trust that recounting the miracle we observed at her passing will underscore this point. I know it has forever changed me. After watching Mom endure significant suffering for many days without any relief from her pain and discomfort, we decided to take steps to alleviate her distress. She had told us she was ready to leave this earth and meet Jesus in Heaven. Once she started to rest easier after being given pain medicine, it was suggested that we pray the Rosary with her. This was a special, daily ritual for my parents. As we gathered around her bed, kneeling and laying hands on her, my dad retrieved his rosary from his pocket, and five of us took turns leading a Mystery of the Rosary. Even though Mom was in a deep sleep and her breathing was labored, it seemed as if she was trying to pray with us. Dad held a rosary bead in both his and her hand as we all prayed together. As we reached the last two Hail Marys’ of the fifth Mystery, the Crucifixion of Our Lord Jesus, Mom's eyes suddenly shot wide open, fixating on something beyond the confines of this world. We continued to pray fervently, struggling through the Hail Holy Queen prayer to complete the Rosary. Just as we uttered the final words of the prayer, Mom took her last breaths, and we sensed her spirit leaving her body. Despite our tears and sorrow over her loss, a profound sense of peace and calm descended upon the room. Jesus was truly present in that moment. As Mom closed her eyes, a single tear drop escaped, resting in the corner of her right eye. It was one of the most beautiful moments in my life, and I will be forever grateful for that experience.

I believe it was Mom’s deep enduring faith that carried her through the past few months and ultimately into Jesus’ open arms. For it is by Jesus’ death and resurrection that we are all saved and welcomed into our heavenly home.

Mom, we are grateful for your love, wisdom and guidance. We will miss your physical presence in our lives, but we know that you are forever with us, protecting us and keeping us safe. May you rest in eternal peace until we meet again.