Jerome "Jerry" Allan Hoffman

He was preceded in death by his parents, Vernon P. Hoffman and Erna C. (Rinne) Hoffman.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Carol Lea (Klein) Hoffman; his daughter, Dr. Cara Hoffman; his son-in-law, Kevin Boles; his granddaughter, Amanda Boles; his brothers, David Hoffman and Stephan Hoffman; his sister, Karen Hoffman; and several nieces and nephews.

He was born in 1935 in Steinauer, Nebraska, and graduated with honors from Pawnee City High School in 1952. After high school, he attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he majored in Agriculture and was a member of Farm House fraternity. In 1958, he was drafted into the United States Army and was sent to Georgetown University's language school where he studied Iraqi Arabic for a year before joining a counterintelligence unit in Berlin. After leaving the army, he received a bachelor's degree in German, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He continued his education by graduating from the University of Nebraska Law School where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Nebraska Law Review and was a winning team member of the law school's Moot Court Competition. In 1965, he received a J.D. degree, with Distinction and Order-of the-Coif.

After graduation, he practiced law in Los Angeles, California, with McCutchen, Black, Verleger, & Shea for three years. He then went into academia and served as Assistant Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico for three years. In 1971 he came to the University of Alabama Law School where he was the Elton B. Stephens Professor of Law, teaching primarily in the fields of Evidence and Civil Procedure.

During his professorship at UA, he served as a founding member of the Alabama Supreme Court's Advisory Committee of Civil Practice and Procedure and was the author of Hoffman on Alabama Civil Procedure and co-author of Schroeder & Hoffman on Alabama Evidence.

Jerry touched the lives of many students, professionally and personally. As a volunteer, he served as a tutor for the Adult Literacy Program. As a UA faculty member/student association advisor, he received the first Faculty Award for Dedication and Service from the Black Law Student Association in 2002 and UA's Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award in 2003.

In retirement, he devoured books of poetry and assembled an anthology of hundreds of his favorite poems. In addition, he created his own collection of verse and published some of them in The Quality of Light in Alabama. His other interests were many, but he especially enjoyed observing anything that flew-- from birds to aircraft. As a lifelong scholar, he found new things to learn everywhere he traveled in this country and in over twenty countries abroad. Above all, he was a devoted educator/mentor to his students and beloved husband, father, and “Tuppa” to his wife, daughter, and granddaughter.

As per his wishes, no funeral services are planned, but memorials may be sent to the National Audubon Society, West Alabama Food Bank, or Hospice of West Alabama.

Condolences may be offered at www.HeritageChapelTuscaloosa.com.