Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2010 / Fr. Hoffmaster's earlier secular career helped in priestly ministry
Fr. Hoffmaster's earlier secular career helped in priestly ministry
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published April 2, 2010
DETROIT — A career of training managers before he entered the priesthood helped Fr. Harry Hoffmaster relate to other people well and make him the outgoing person he was, said a cousin.
Fr. Hoffmaster, of Marysville, died March 18. He was 90.
Al Beck, Fr. Hoffmaster's cousin, said although there were 15 years between the two of them Beck still considered Fr. Hoffmaster a surrogate brother. Beck and his wife, Barb, have five children, and "our family was the family he did not have," he said.
Fr. Hoffmaster was an avid traveler, Beck remembered, and he occasionally went on trips with Beck's family. Among his favorite spots to visit were the World's Fair — "He liked all the different cultures of people," Beck said — and England, where he would purchase prints of boats for his art collection. He'd also been to Italy and the Holy Land quite a few times, Beck said.
"There aren't too many countries he did not visit," Beck said.
Fr. Hoffmaster had a late vocation to the priesthood, entering the seminary at age 46 and being ordained at age 50. Prior to that, he'd served in the Navy during World War II and then worked for Ford Motor Co. training managers, when he really started to travel; he picked up his traveling again in earnest after he became a senior priest, Beck said.
Although Fr. Hoffmaster has few living relatives, Beck said the caregivers he needed his last 10 years would include him for Christmas and other celebrations. Beck and his wife live four hours away in Ohio, but Fr. Hoffmaster would occasionally drive down to see his cousin's family when the children were younger, or meet them halfway.
Beck also remembered that his cousin would spend a lot of time in his condo reading and praying. He said although his cousin's health had deteriorated in his last few years, he didn't bring up the pain. "Never during his illness, especially in his later years, he never complained at all," Beck said. "He took everything in stride."
Beck said a lot of people had visited the funeral home who had met Fr. Hoffmaster over the years. "He was very pastoral in his ministry," he said. "He really related to people very well. He was really close with a lot of families in these parishes.
"He knew how to share his faith with a lot of people, at a practical level," he continued. "He was not one for quoting passages out of the Gospel — he was more into translating then into real practical lessons that you could use in everyday life. He was really an all-around guy."
Fr. Hoffmaster was born July 20, 1919, in Toledo to Harry, Sr. and Marie Jessie (Beck) Hoffmaster. Before he entered the priesthood, he worked for Ford Motor Co. and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Detroit and later his master's from the University of Michigan.
He was ordained a priest Dec. 4, 1970, in Detroit, at age 50. He served as transitional deacon at St. Joseph Parish, Erie, and then served as an associate pastor at St. Peter Parish, Harper Woods, before serving as pastor at St. Peter from 1975-80, and then as pastor at All Saints Parish, Memphis, from 1980-89. He also served one term as vicar in the SERF Vicariate, and two terms as vicar of the Blue Water Vicariate.
Fr. Hoffmaster became a senior priest in 1990, and then assisted at parishes in the Blue Water area, including St. Mark Parish, Harsens Island; Holy Cross Parish, Marine City; and Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission, Port Huron.
Funeral Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Allen Vigneron March 23 at Our Lady on the River's Holy Cross Church, Marine City, with burial following at the church's cemetery.
In addition to his cousin Al (Barb) Beck, Fr. Hoffmaster is survived by second cousins Peter and David Beck.
Condolences to Al Beck, 5096 Andover Circle, Stow, Ohio 44224. Memorials to Holy Cross Church, 610 S. Water St., Marine City 48039.
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