Gail Hope Hofstadler

Gail Hope (Ellis) Hofstadler died peacefully on January 16, 2021 in Austin Texas at the age of 81. Her memorial service will be held online at http://www .standrewabq. org, on May 22, 2021, at 11:00 AM Mountain Time.

Gail was born on August 19, 1939 in Hopewell, Virginia. She was raised by her mother, Mabel (Rivenbark) Barnett. She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Hugo; her oldest son Paul; her daughters-in-law Joyce and Nina; her grandsons Justin, Thomas, Shane, and James; and her sisters-in-law Marjorie and Mary Ellis. Her youngest son, Steven, predeceased her in 2014.

After leaving Hopewell at the age of 15 to live with her sister in Albuquerque, NM, Gail worked several retail and administrative jobs before becoming a secretary at the Atomic Energy Commission. During this time, she met her future husband, Hugo Hofstadler, a Lieutenant in the Air Force. Seeking adventure, Gail took a one-year assignment with the CIA where she worked in the Kennedy White House as an assistant to the leadership of the President’s Committee on Information Activities Abroad. She returned to Albuquerque in 1961 to marry Hugo and to begin a family.

As her family grew, Gail became active in supporting organizations that helped her family and community. She was a den mother and den mother coach for Cub Scouts. She was the co-chairman of the statewide New Mexico Pageant of Bands marching band competition. She served on the North Area Advisory Council of the Albuquerque Public Schools and on the Parental Advisory boards of both Governor Bent Elementary and Cleveland Junior High schools. She was active in the St Andrew Presbyterian Church community where she served as an Elder and on most of the church committees during her 55-year membership there. She was the co-director of the summer church school programs and managed the buildings and grounds team that oversaw the multi-year modernization of the church grounds.

Addressing one of the most challenging problems of our times, Gail turned her attention to fighting hunger and homelessness in the Albuquerque community. She worked at the Rio Grande Food Project as its Executive Director and volunteered at the Roadrunner Food Bank for dozens of years. As a result of that work and a series of health fairs for the homeless she organized, she received recognition from the Mayor of Albuquerque for her impactful work on hunger, health, and homelessness.

She was a devoted wife, a loving mother, an enthusiastic grandmother, and a lasting friend. Her compassion, empathy, energy, love, determination, grace, faith, and drive left this world a better place.

The family would appreciate donations in her honor to the Rio Grande Food Project http://rgfp.org (PO Box 66498, Albuquerque NM 87193) or to the Roadrunner Food Bank http:// rrfb.org (5840 Office Blvd NE, Albuquerque NM 87109). We’d also like to thank everyone that has reached out to provide comfort and encouragement to our family during this difficult time. It has truly lifted our spirits. The family can be reached at info@hofstadler.com