Edward Burton Hoff

Edward Burton Hoff of Phoenix, passed away February 1, 2021 after a prolonged battle with pneumonia. He was born May 27, 1933 in Ashville, North Carolina, the fourth child of Fern Irvin and Amos Harper Hoff. In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by his two sisters Lucille and Carol, and by his beloved grandson Devon Harper Hollahan.

He traveled to Phoenix as a child before living in Swannanoa, North Carolina and Tucson, Arizona. His father was appointed to teaching positions at the Warren Wilson Farm School and then to the Tucson Mission School Escuela by the Presbyterian Home Mission Board. His father then took a teaching position in 1937 at Phoenix, College. Phoenix became Edward’s permanent home although he fondly remembered his time at Escuela among the students and the desert.

Edward was a graduate of North High School in 1951 and then received his AA degree at Phoenix College. For one year he attended Manchester College in Indiana and then returned to Arizona. He received both Bachelor of Arts and a Master’s Degree in Mathematics at the University of Arizona. He began his teaching career at the university as a teaching assistant.

When he returned to Phoenix, he started his career in the classroom teaching Mathematics at West High School. When the Community College Board of Maricopa County began its expansion, Ed and a small group of college prepared teachers taught classes at the Jewish Community Center. These teachers became the core faculty of Glendale Community College. Ed taught, continued his education, served several terms as department chairperson, and committed his life to education until he finally retired at age seventy in 2003. His students remembered and loved him for his wealth and breadth of knowledge and his dry wit.

He was not only an outstanding educator in the classroom, but also shared his skills with colleagues, friends, and family. Many shared that he was, indeed, a Renaissance man. He was a skilled musician, a master woodworker, and an experienced world traveler.

Ed is survived by his brother Wilbur, his daughters Lori Hoff Rodriguez and Lynn Hoff Hollahan and their spouses and one granddaughter Kelsey Hollahan Brady and her spouse. He is also survived by his wife Deborah and her four children, their spouses, eight grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. Almost all of these children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren traveled the globe with their Poppa. He will be missed. No services will be held at this time.