Tribute to my dad

Hickory Hill Hoff · #1 04-12-2008, 09:19 AM

This is a column I wrote Thursday evening just hours after my dad; Bill Hoffman past away suddenly. It's my tribute to a man I loved dearly and will miss very much. Come Kentucky Derby time and during the Saratoga meet, things won't be the same for me with him not around. Goodbye, dad...I'll love you always

AT THE POST column by Mark Hoffman for 4/12/08

This could be the toughest column that I’ve ever written in the almost ten years of doing AT THE POST. I lost a man that I admired the most, looked up to and was everything a father should be; my dad Bill Hoffman. The last nine months were tough one for him, but recently things were looking up and the cancer that he had was in remission. So, it was a shock to me when all of a sudden he was gone. He was always good to my mother; Marie and brother; Marty and well as everyone he knew and met. Bill Hoffman was a "class" act.

A hard workingman, he lived his entire life here in the Mohawk Valley. A big fan of the cinema; it was a hobby he had since high school. Making home movies with his friends in the 50’s on regular “8” film, his true wish was to be a motion picture filmmaker someday. But; in the early 60’s he got married and settled down to raise a family, other things were more important. In his mid thirties, he went back to school and learned to be a printer and worked 25 years at Montgomery County. It was sad when my mother passed away only two months before he was to retire in 1999. But, dad had a lot to live for with his family. My nephew Sam was only five years old at the time, kept dad busy for the next nine years after mom was gone. Sam said to his mother; “mom, I lost my best friend” when he learn that dad died. Your right Sam, I lost my best friend too.

Dad loved horse racing just as much as I do. Saratoga was his favorite spot and the last 21 years, we went there quite a bit. Every Breeder’s Cup event at Belmont Park, dad went with me. When the Triple Crown races were going, dad was wagering at OTB. When I got into my racing partnership with Dee Tee Stable, dad was the biggest supporter. I think dad was proudest with my interest in thoroughbred racing and where it lead to.

Which brings us to this column; dad never became that cinema moviemaker he wanted to be, but he was so happy for me when I got the opportunity to write this column for the Amsterdam Recorder. I never went to college; it wasn’t the thing for me. I bounce from job to job a few years after I graduated from high school in 1982. Finally, when I got my first “real” job in 1986, it was for Montgomery County the same placed dad worked. We worked together for 13 years until he retired. I was really sad the day he left work and even more sad that he couldn’t enjoy his retirement with my mother because she was gone. But, the family kept him going for nine more years, enjoying all the things he liked and I’ll be ever gratefully for that.

Bill Hoffman had a good life, enjoyed the things he did. He was a good father and grandfather always looking out for his family. I’ll always remember those days at the track with dad, whether it was at Saratoga, Belmont Park for the Breeder’s Cup or just hanging out at the local OTB. Horse racing was a bond that brought us together, it made me love the sport more. It won’t be the same anymore when I go to the track. But, I’ll remember all the good times when dad and I were there. Most of all, I’ll miss you dad. Thanks for everything, you were my hero.