Rev Verle O. Hoffman

Rev. Verle O. Hoffman, 85, of Elkhart, died Sunday evening, December 11, 2005, after a brief illness, at Elkhart General Hospital.   He was born August 8, 1920, in Ionia County, Michigan, to Moses P. and Mattie Pearl (Hershberger) Hoffman.  On June 4, 1944, in Goshen, he married Berdine Byler.  She died December 25, 1976.  He then married Beverly J. (Ritter) Bingaman, in Elkhart, on July 30, 1983.  She survives.   He was a member of the Belmont Mennonite Church, Elkhart.   Rev. Hoffman was ordained to the ministry on August 27, 1944, by the Clinton Frame Mennonite Church.  He served in CPS in Ohio and Pennsylvania.   He then served the new Benton Mennonite Church from 1945 to 1948, and then the Roselawn Mennonite Church in Elkhart for 19 years.  He also served at the Tri-Lake Chapel from 1971 to 1979 and on the ministerial team at Belmont Mennonite Church from 1982 to 1984.    He also served on the Amigo Centre Board and helped form the Mennonite Disabilities, now known as Goldenrod, and then served as Chairman of the MDC Board.   He is survived by his wife, Beverly; four sons, Keith (Ethel) Hoffman, Stanley (Joyce) Hoffman, Paul (Debra) Hoffman, all of Elkhart, and Philip (Vicki) Hoffman of Hesston, Kansas; a daughter, Ruth Anne Hoffman of Goshen; two step-daughters, Linda (Frank) Brown of Edwardsburg, Michigan and Susan Bingaman of Elkhart, Indiana.  Also surviving are eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, four step-grandchildren and one step-great-grandchild.   He was preceded in death by his first wife, Berdine, and a brother, Viveron E. Hoffman.   Friends will be received 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 pm, Tuesday, December 13, at Yoder-Culp Funeral Home.   A private family burial will be held in Miller Cemetery, Goshen.  Eldon Heatwole of Belmont Mennonite Church will officiate.   A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am, Wednesday, December 14, 2005, at the Belmont Mennonite Church, 925 Oxford St., Elkhart.  Paul Gingrich and Willard Swartley will officiate at the memorial service.   Memorial contributions may be made to Mennonite Disabilities Committee.