Wilbur H. Hoff

Wilbur Henry Hoff, of Lakewood, Colorado, was born November 26, 1920 in rural Colorado near Timnath and passed away in Englewood, Colorado on April 10, 2014. Will is survived by his children Kimberly M. Hoff, of Seattle, Washington, and Karen D. Sanchez of Littleton, Colorado, and his grandchildren Elizabeth Bond (Littleton, CO), Alexandra Bond (Louisville, CO) and Kristofer Jones (Kirkland, WA).

Wilbur was the eighth of ten children born to Henry Hoff and Mary Stroh Hoff. He graduated from Loveland High School in 1939. Shortly thereafter, he joined the army and became a mechanic. As he was stationed in Victorville California, he noticed a posting for pilots. He applied and was accepted. After flight training in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, he was stationed first in England, and then in Italy. He received a commendation for Valor for 50 combat missions in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. At the end of the war, he joined the Air Force Reserves and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.

After the war, he attended Aggies (now Colorado State University) and earned an engineering degree. He was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. During his career, he worked as an engineer for Ideal Cement, Jefferson County Public Schools and Mr. Steak. He eventually wanted a career change and spent many years as a real estate professional and as a rental property manager. He married Lucille Jacobson in 1948. He and Lucille had two children, Kimberly M. Hoff and Karen D. Sanchez. His greatest achievements outside his Air Force years, were building a cabin in the Breckinridge area and learning to ski at the age of almost 50. After retirement, Wilbur spent many hours working on his house in Central Lakewood, travelling, skiing, and flying. He participated in the Squadron 347, 99th Bomber Group reunions and re-connected with many of his service buddies. He loved having coffee with all of the regulars at Davies Diner. Wilbur passed away on April 10 after a three month illness at the age of 93.

Memorial service will be held at Newcomer Lakewood on April 17, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. followed by internment at Fort Logan National Cemetery at 11:30 a.m.


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