Oscar Hoffman

Oscar Hoffman was born in the Mennonite Community of Donegal, Kansas on January 6, 1905. Donegal is near Abilene, Kansas. He was the son of E.L. "Oscar" and Faith Noble Hoffman. Oscar's father, Eli, was a prosperous farmer and mayor of Abilene during the 1920's and 30's. Mr. Hoffman graduated from Abilene High School in 1922. Later he attended Kansas State College, where he majored in Agricultural Economics. Mr. Hoffman received a Master's Degree from Iowa State University and a PhD in Economics from Harvard University. He had a distinguished career in academia, government and industry. Following his PhD work at Harvard, he was an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Wisconsin. In 1934, he joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. as an Agricultural Economist. During his years at the U.S.D.A., he made important contributions to the fields of agricultural marketing large-scale corporate enterprises in the food industry and to the food stamp plan. He served as director of Food Price Control in the Office of Price Administration (OPA) from 1941 through 1943. In January 1944, Mr. Hoffman joined the Kraft Foods Co. in Chicago, Illinois as an Economist. He became Director of the Purchasing Department in 1946 and was promoted to Vice President of Purchasing in 1954. He retired in 1970. Following his retirement, Hoffman was named a Fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association. This honor is the highest conferred by the Association, which is comprised of food and agricultural economists in universities, government and business. Oscar and his wife, Faith, moved to Bull Shoals in 1970. During his years in Bull Shoals, he was a member of the United Methodist Church and a member of Rotary, International. Oscar Hoffman passed away at Care Manor of Baxter County on March 8, 2005 at the age of 100 years, 2 months and 2 days. Survivors: Son, Ellis, and his wife Nancy of Chesterfield, MO; daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Hoffman of Santa Fe, New Mexico; four granddaughters, Karen Gilmore and Julie Burke of Dallas, Texas and Dawn Shaff and Heather Hoffman of Santa Fe, New Mexico; three great-grandchildren, Allison Gilmore and Charles and David Burke, all of Dallas, Texas and his good friend, Jessie Aston Preceded in Death by: Son, Dr. Browning Hoffman passed away in 1979; and wife, Faith died in 1989 Funeral: 10:00 A.M., Saturday, March 19, 2005 at the United Methodist Church of Bull Shoals with Pastor Nicholas C. Lascaro officiating. Burial: Abilene Cemetery in Abilene, Kansas