Lebanon County PA Archives Obituaries.....Hoffman, Emerson, Jr. May 3, 2011
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  Sharon S. M. shabodeho@aol.com May 10, 2011, 10:14 am
  
  Published in Lebanon Daily News on May 7, 2011 
  Emerson Hoffman Jr. 
  
  FEB 1925 - 3 MAY 2011 Emerson was born in Easton, the son of Emerson Hoffman, 
  Sr. and Dorathea (Sholly) Hoffman. After moving to Millards-ville, PA, Emerson 
  attended the one-room schoolhouse there, skipping a grade simply by paying 
  attention to the teacher as she taught the higher grades in the same room. 
  Although he was expected to attend Myerstown HS, he was fascinated by the new 
  machine shop and woodworking shop at Lebanon HS. In the days before school 
  buses, he hitch-hiked, every day, from Millardsville to LHS; at the end of the 
  school day, he hitch-hiked home. After graduating from LHS in 1942, he left 
  home for Baltimore where he lived in a company dormitory while helping to build 
  bomber aircraft at the Martin Aircraft Factory in Middle River, Md. Upon 
  turning 18, he enlisted in the US Merchant Marine. He entered training at the 
  Sheepshead Bay Maritime Training Station in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he qualified 
  for entry into the US Maritime Service Radio School. After graduating from 
  radio school, he was a communications officer onboard ships in convoys crossing 
  the Atlantic. He also sailed in convoys around the north coast of Norway to 
  Murmansk, USSR. In 1945, he was reassigned to the Pacific Theater where his 
  voyages included supporting the Battle of Okinawa. After WWII, Jerry - the 
  nickname he picked up during the war - decided to remain in the Merchant 
  Marine. He met his wife, Mary Jane Reiter, at the Millardsville Quarry during a 
  day when she skipped school at Myerstown HS. They married in NYC in Feb., 1950. 
  Their only child, Chris, was born in May, 1952. During his 42 years as a 
  merchant seaman, he literally "sailed the Seven Seas." His trips at sea 
  included sailing into other conflicts including the Lebanon Crisis in 1958; the 
  Vietnam War; and the Bangladeshi War of Independence in 1971, as well as 
  sailing onboard US passenger ships during the heyday of the great ocean liners. 
  But, over the years, he preferred sailing to the east and west coasts of South 
  America. While sailing mostly out of NYC, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, whenever 
  he wasn't at sea he loved being at home on the family farm in northern Lebanon 
  County. He was proud of his Pennsylvania Dutch roots - he spoke mostly only PA 
  Dutch when he entered first grade in Millardsville - and he always loved living 
  and working on a farm. After retiring from the Merchant Marine in 1985, he 
  spent every winter at Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys, where he would sail his 
  sailboat almost every day. He returned, for the last time, from BPK in March. 
  He received his private pilot's license following WWII. And he loved building 
  and flying model airplanes. He valued the expertise of the legendary Harry 
  Moyer of Walnut Street, Lebanon, who mentored many a young model airplane 
  enthusiast. He was a member of the Lions Club, the American Legion, the Academy 
  of Model Aeronautics, and a Life Member of the VFW. He was preceded in death by 
  his wife Mary Jane. He is survived by his beloved long-time companion, 
  Mylesetta "Sis" Webber, Camp Hill; his son, Chris and daughter-in-law Denise, 
  Lebanon, formerly of London, England; granddaughters Anneka, Natalie, and 
  Evelyn; and numerous nephews and cousins. A memorial service will be conducted 
  at Grose Funeral Home, 358 W. Washington Ave., Myerstown, on 17 May 2011 at 11 
  a.m. with internment of his ashes alongside Mary Jane at Mt. Hope Cemetery 
  following the service. 
  
  Published in Lebanon Daily News on May 7, 2011 
  
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