[Part II]  The next thing I knew we were rushing out of our bedroom to the staircase that led downstairs. It was very, very warm also which was odd considering it was still the end of winter. My mom was  descending the stairs first carrying my brother Gib & she stopped on the landing halfway down the stairs to grab a big old quilt out of the linen closet there. Dad was carrying me & I was looking over his shoulder back up the stairs when there was a huge roaring crash & the stairs behind us crashed down & all I could see was flames!
   Now you’d think I would be terrified, but I wasn’t because I was in my dad’s arms; I was still trying to figure out (in my little 4 & a half year old mind) what the heck was going on! We made it down the rest of the stairs & rushed out on the porch towards the car. We had a big old Chevy station wagon & Mom & Dad put my brother & I in the back wrapped in the big quilt. Then I was able to see that our whole house was engulfed in flames! I remember watching as the fire trucks arrived & my dad was running around in his pajama bottoms helping the firemen. They were trying to get a huge freezer full of frozen meat out the door, but they never succeeded. We ended up losing everything except our pajamas & our big quilt. We drove to the nearest neighbors house a few miles away & stayed the night. I could see the bright flames across the fields from the window of the bedroom where we were sleeping. But I was never really scared that night because my dad was always there keeping me safe. 
   Not long after that we moved to a little house & people gave us tons of stuff, from clothes to kitchen stuff & everyone was so kind & helpful. It was then that my mom told Dad that she wanted to move to California where they had college friends living in San Francisco; so that’s what we did after they sold the land the house had been on. We spent 2 weeks driving across country with our German Shepherd dog Raksha & I started kindergarten in San Francisco.

   One of the best memories I have of my dad is from when I was very little & our house burned down. I know it may seem rather odd that I say this is one of my best memories, but it always has been.
   I was born in Hamilton Ohio hospital in 1955, which was the nearest hospital to Miami University where both my parents, Gil & Barbara attended college. The first place I remember living was in a big old farmhouse on a few acres in eastern Ohio. I remember swinging on a rope swing in the old barn where we had a couple horses & playing on a swing set after Dad dug enough snow out of the way so the individual swings would have enough room to move. We would swing as high as we could only to jump off & land in the big pile of snow Dad left there.
   The house was heated by an old furnace down in the cellar. It burned both wood & coal so there was a large bin on either side of the furnace, one for coal & one for wood. Unfortunately it was very old & one night the old door developed a large crack through which sparks escaped only to land in one of the bins & start a fire n the cellar.
   My brother & I slept in a big room on the second story & that night I awoke to something very odd. The moonlight was shining in the window & by that light I could see what looked like mist or something sort of sifting up through the cracks in the floorboards. I remember laying there trying to figure out what it was until I realized it smelled like smoke! I still wasn’t really scared yet because it was so out of the ordinary, but I decided I should tell my mom & dad so I got out of bed to find them - then I realized the floorboards were very warm, almost hot. So I opened the door & started calling for my parents so the could tell me what was up.
   Very soon, my parents rushed into the bedroom, first my mom, then Dad a few minutes later. Things became very rushed before I even knew what was happening! [End of Part One]


Uncle Lowell you will always be a joy filled memeory for me! I will be having a booster shot in memory of you!
Love Always and forever, 
Krissy

You will be sadly missed Brother  Thank God for telephones we were able to keep in touch  And the lovely trip to Cal.  with Ron and Marleen.   Let God take you home and see allyour brothers and sisters that are waiting for you and your MOTHER   Love you always your sister Joanne Y Hofacker Fleming.


God Bless Uncle Lowell I’ll miss the fun times I had with you and Aunt Genie playing gin. Love Billy 

OBITUARY

Gilbert Lowell Hofacker

March 11, 1928 – February 20, 2023

Chapel of the Hills

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