Richard J. Hoff, age 91, of Hendricks, MN, passed away Tuesday, February 4, 2025 at the Hendricks Hospital in Hendricks, MN. Services will be held at a later date. The Houseman Funeral Home – Birk Chapel in Hendricks is handling the arrangements.
Richard Joseph Hoff, 91, of Hendricks, Minnesota passed away on February 4th, 2025. Richard was born on February 6th, 1933, to Joseph and Esther Hoff in Hendricks, MN. He was raised on his father’s farm, graduated from Hendricks High School in 1950, and soon after he entered the military and served honorably during the Korean war before being discharged from the Army in 1955. Upon his return from service, he met his wife Wanice from Ivanhoe, MN whom he married on June 30th, 1957. Richard and Wanice began farming near Hendricks and raised five children on their farm. After his time in the Army, Richard committed the rest of adult work life to agriculture in multiple forms. First as a dairy farmer, then raising feeder pigs while raising crops to support the animals. He was also an avid horseman, raising and training quarter horses, palominos, and appaloosas. After his time as a farmer, Richard was employed by MoorMans feed and worked for an agriculture machinery company in Hendricks before retiring. Richard became an avid woodworker. He constructed several pieces of furniture and joined forces with Wanice in hundreds of woodworking/painting craft projects of which they brought to art fairs and gifted to family and friends. Richard was always on the lookout for “good wood” and was able to craft amazing products from just about any piece of discarded material! His craftmanship can be found in every home of his children and grandchildren to whom he was completely committed. Richard and Wanice were married 65 years before Wanice’s passing in September of 2022. They were deeply committed to each other and when Wanice’s health wavered at the end of her time, Richard was her primary caregiver. One of his favorite passages from an unknown author was, “When we get to the end of our lives together, the house we had, the cars we drove, the things possessed won’t matter; what matters is that I had you and you had me.”
He is survived by his sister Donna Thurow, five children: Jeanne Lacy, Dwayne (Jennifer), Jan (Steve), Dale (Jennifer), and David; seven granddaughters: Rasheeda Mitchem (Elliott), Milliecia Kebede (Nahom), Hailey Thompson (Trevor), Kylie, Tegan, Abbie and Ashlee Hoff, one great granddaughter, Mira Mitchem and one great grandson, Solan Kebede.
