Jackie Darrel Hofmann — "Grandpa Jack" — was born on June 26, 1926, in Milton, Wayne County, Indiana.² He was the second child of four: older brother Donald, then Jack, then younger sisters Wilma and Joyce. His parents were William Wilmar "Fritz" Hofmann (b. January 10, 1899) and Tiny Agnes Knipp (b. August 16, 1893) — "Fritz and Agnes who were farmers," as the eulogy puts it, the Hofmann generation that joined the Knipp family that the other half of this book is structured around.^1,2 (See also the placeholder chapter "When Hoffmann met Kipp" — these are the parents in that meeting.)

"It was at an early age that Jack along with his older brother Donald and two younger sisters Wilma and Joyce learned that life's rewards were earned through hard work and honest living," the eulogy records.¹

The earliest anecdote the eulogy preserves places Jack at age five, c. 1931. "As a young child of five he was so enamored by the family Model T, so anxious to take a ride, that he secretly crawled up on the back bumper of the car and hung on for dear life while his father unwittingly drove him through the countryside and then through town before ever discovering his young son hiding on the rear of the car. Grandpa never told me if Fritz was mad and punished him or if Fritz, who had quite the reputation for having been an adventurous youngster himself, merely decided that he had a 'chip off the old block' on his hands."¹

On the farm, when their parents drove into town, Jack and his older brother Donald would bring out the work horses, ride them hard, and "scramble to get them safely put away before their father got home."¹

As a young man Jack was "handsome, tall, strong and athletic" and played basketball at Brownsville High School in Indiana. The single play the eulogy preserves: "It was the last seconds of the game and Grandpa's Brownsville team was behind by a single point. Somehow he was able to steal the ball away from an opposing player, but not having time to turn around to face the basket, Grandpa sent up a desperation shot backwards and over his head. The ball landed in the basket as the buzzer sounded, and for at least that evening, Jack Hofmann was the hero."¹

He graduated from Brownsville HS in spring 1944.¹ Years later he joined the "Old Timers" team, "even though it came with a lot of aches and pains."

Older brother Donald served in the military during World War II. Jack was too young initially, and "Fritz and Agnes' younger son contributed by staying behind to assist in the day to day running of the family farm." He was scheduled to take his physical for military service in the fall of 1945. He never had to. VJ Day — August 15, 1945 — came first.¹

"Here in Connersville, people left their homes and crowded into the downtown area to celebrate with friends, family and strangers alike the victory over Japan that finally had put an end to the war. On that August evening Grandpa was riding in a car with a group of young men, all friends thrilled by the wonderful news and determined to be a part of the impromptu parade of cars that circled the four block area of downtown Connersville. The driver of the car spotted a young woman that he knew on the street and stopped the car to ask her if she and her two friends would like to join them for the celebratory honking of horns and the endless circling of cars through the town's streets. My Grandma Betty Jo Gruell, stepped into the car with her two girlfriends."¹

After Jack started "showing up more and more at the places that Grandma Betty frequented," the couple married on May 20, 1948.^1,2 Their three children, all biological, all in this site's database:

Jack's trade for "almost all of his adult life was automotive body repair."¹ He worked for years at Liberty's Ford Dealership, owned by Happy Brunner and his sons Clarence and Dutch. When the dealership changed hands, Jack set up his own shop — Hofmann Body Shop, just north of Liberty, Indiana. "There he built an outstanding reputation on integrity, service and quality workmanship. When needing to repair their cars, people from miles around would insist on having the work done at Hofmann Body Shop. It was a business that endured for nearly 40 years."¹

Outside the body shop, he was also a sign painter whose work appeared on businesses around Liberty, and — privately — an artist. "Young Jack spent many evenings lying on the floor of the family farm house, listening to the radio and drawing pictures. Though most people were not aware of his abilities in fine arts, drawing a landscape or a portrait just came naturally to this untrained but talented boy."¹

Two deaths defined the year. The eulogy says "In 1967 Grandpa lost his mother Agnes to cancer. Tragically, only a few months earlier Grandpa's older brother Donald had died in a farming accident." ¹ The GEDCOM records Tiny Agnes Knipp's death as February 25, 1968 — close to but not exactly 1967, suggesting the eulogy compressed the timeline (Agnes was likely dying through 1967 and passed in early 1968).²

"Grandma Betty said it was the first time she had ever seen Grandpa cry. His heart was filled with sorrow for the premature loss of his brother and good friend as well as for Donald's widow Elsie and their six children. Grandma Betty said she thought Grandpa was never the same after that."¹

Subsequent losses among Jack's siblings: his father Fritz Hofmann passed on (date not in either source); his younger sister Wilma (McIntosh) died of cancer after her husband Mac — also of cancer — leaving three children; his younger sister Joyce (Henwood) is named in the eulogy as the only remaining child of Fritz and Agnes at the time of the eulogy, with her husband Allen having pre-deceased her and four children of her own.¹

In retirement, Jack and Betty moved to a retirement community in Wilmington, North Carolina, where they spent his last years. "He managed to enjoy the time he spent with Grandma in Wilmington, North Carolina. There they lived in a retirement community and enjoyed the pleasant weather and visits from their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. It was recently that Grandpa told Grandma that he was content in these new surroundings."¹

Their 59th wedding anniversary was May 20, 2007. That was the day Jack entered the hospital for the last time. He died there eleven days later, on May 31, 2007.^1,2 Per the eulogy: "It is only appropriate that he return to his life long home in Indiana and rest in peace with the loved ones that have gone before him."¹

Gary's text fills in framing his nephew's eulogy did not. "Jack Hofmann was a man of complexity. Though not a religious man, he was a man of deep moral conviction and lived the Golden Rule. Though quiet with a rather stern demeanor, he had a surprisingly disarming sense of humor that he displayed until the day he died."⁴

"An extremely intelligent man, Jack was an excellent student but never had the opportunity to attend college. Nevertheless, he had a passion for politics though he was never a politician. His strong mental faculties along with his moral convictions were never lost. Even time, pain and suffering did not alter his strong capacity to think well. And even though he tried to hide it, he was a gentle man."⁴

On the body shop Gary specifies its endurance: "It was a business that endured for nearly 40 years."⁴ Gary also names the sign-painting career as a public-facing reputation: "His work was displayed as advertising on many of the businesses around Liberty."⁴

Gary's closing — counting Jack's descendants at the time of his death — gives the May 2007 family-size snapshot: "Jack leaves behind a loving wife, three children, four grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. They will miss him every day for the rest of their lives."⁴

Gary Hofmann's son Joel Hofmann — Jack's grandson, Benjamin Thompson's maternal first cousin — followed the family to Union County High School, graduating in 1999. Joel was a three-sport varsity athlete: football, basketball, baseball. In 1998 he was named Associated Press All-State in football, and his football team won the Tri-Eastern Conference championship — the same conference his great-uncle Skip Thompson's Lancers had won in 1966-67.⁶

Joel went on to play offensive line at Ball State University, winning a varsity letter every year from 2000 through 2003 and graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in 2005. In 2004 the St. Louis Rams signed him as an undrafted free agent — the only documented family member to be on an NFL roster.⁶ He was inducted into the Union County High School Athletic Hall of Fame on February 22, 2008.⁶