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Ronald Theodore Hoff, aged 90, of Hauppauge, New York, passed away on Monday, January 6, 2025 peacefully in his sleep at home. He is survived by his daughters Debbie and Diane, his son David, his sons-in-law Norbert and Paul, and his 2 grandchildren Madison and Travis. His wife, Joan, predeceased him in 2021. The son of Beatrice and Rienhart Hoff, Ron was born upstate on August 1, 1934 in Highland, New York, near Poughkeepsie. He was the oldest of 3 children - his sister Elaine and the youngest, Billy. Ron outlived both of them. His mom was a nurse who stopped working after she had children and his father worked on the docks on the Hudson River. Ron met Joan, his wife of 66 years, while she was attending SUNY New Paltz to become a teacher. Their common desire to travel and see the world formed the solid basis of their relationship and legend has it that Joan’s chocolate chip cookies sealed the deal! Ron joined the Army Corps of Engineers when he was 20 and served from 1954 to 1956. The main project he worked on was building the Robert Moses Bridge! They got married through Ethical Culture when Joan was only 20 and Ron 21. After Joan graduated college, she supported Ron while he finished serving in the Army and then went to college himself to also became a teacher. He worked in the Harborfields school district in Greenlawn at the middle and high schools there as an industrial arts teacher for 33 years until his retirement in 1996. He was beloved by all the kids he taught because of his warmhearted, patient way of interacting with them. It was rumored that many of the girls in his shop classes thought he was very good looking! Ron and Joan married young but held off having children for many years so they could establish their careers and travel. Their first family member was a boxer dog named Sabrina, who ate their anniversary steak dinner early on in their marriage, and later another boxer named Gigi. After that came Wiggles, and then Rufus - all boxers. Being teachers meant Joan and Ron both had the summers off. After having their 3 children, this time was always used for traveling with the entire family. From the very beginning, the children went on all the many trips, mostly camping at Montauk’s Hither Hills, upstate at Lake George and on Chesapeake Bay, for example. Later, Ron bought a Continental trailer and drove cross country numerous times with the whole family. He even drove all the way from New York to Alaska twice! This was long before GPS and cell phones were around. The family visited most of the national parks out west and spent time visiting Canada extensively as well. After 10 years with the trailer, Ron and Joan decided their camping days were over and that they’d fly instead - much to the delight of the now teen-aged children! They visited Australia and New Zealand with the whole family, as well as going to Hawaii twice. There were family trips to Spain, Morocco and Portugal, Sweden, Porto Rico, Barbados, the Virgin Islands and a visit to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. In order to finance all these trips on a teacher’s salary with three children, Ron, who was a licensed carpenter, installed air conditioners and finished basements for customers in Suffolk county on Long Island. This was his side business that he worked after school and full time in the early summer months for many years, stopping only after he was well into his seventies. His pennysaver ad also ran for many years and he was well known in the field as the “shop teacher [who] installs air conditioners”. All of the children and sons-in-law at some point helped Ron on his jobs. Ron was also proud of the extensive addition he built on the family home in Hauppauge which expanded the den, created an extra bedroom for daughter Debbie and a whole new section of the basement which became his workshop. He also put up the backyard porch, which is still standing, and installed and maintained an above ground pool for many years. Retirement from teaching became the golden age of travel for Joan and Ron, and the two of them went all over the world. They finally had the time to really expand on their longtime second jobs as travel agents and sent themselves and their friends to many exotic places. They went on trips to India, China, Vietnam, Dubai, an African safari, Panama, South America (Brazil, Peru, Argentina), numerous places in Mexico, Thailand, Japan, Russia, Ireland, went on many trips to the Caribbean, took frequent cruises, did Elder Hostel trips all over the US, made several visits to Canada and traveled to almost all countries in Europe as well as the Galapagos Islands and Israel. On some of the trips, they were accompanied by their daughter Debbie and her husband Norbert as well. Winters were usually spent in Florida until 2015, when age related aches and pains made it increasingly difficult to travel, so in 2016 Ron and Joan surprised everyone by getting a rambunctious and energetic boxer puppy, Brutus. Brutus was the apple of Ron’s eye and he took him everywhere they went. Joan didn’t even want to go grocery shopping without Brutus accompanying them in the car! The last trips they took were always with Brutus. He went with them to New Hampshire, to the top of Mt Washington, to Maine, Pennsylvania Dutch country, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Many times Brutus accompanied Ron and Joan to Long Island Ducks baseball games. They went to Ducks games several times a month and often watched the Mets during spring training down in Florida. Sometimes they accompanied Debbie and Norbert to New York Islanders hockey games. Ron and Joan were active members of the Ethical Culture Society of Long Island, and they attended many meetings and events together. Joan was also a member of AAUW (American Association of University Women) and she took Ron with her to all her AAUW activities. Ron was regarded by the others as an honorary AAUW member! They were both involved in a gourmet group for many years, often met friends to play bridge and poker, and frequently dined out. After Joan passed in 2021, Ron continued to be as active as Covid and his health allowed. He lived at home and was taken care of by Debbie and Norbert. Though he was wheelchair bound, he never complained about his situation. He attended the adult day health care program at the VA in Stony Brook on a weekly basis, where he was adored by the staff for his easygoing, considerate ways. He also participated in many monthly lunches and activities through the Parker Jewish program. He still attended Ducks games on occasion and enjoyed spending time with doggie Brutus. Ron was a true world traveler and was happiest when he was helping others. He was the kindest and most patient husband and father. He loved spending time with his family and fixing things around the house. He never spoke a nasty word about anyone and had a beautiful smile that touched your heart and lit up a room. He would always help you out if you needed it and always did his best to keep the peace and harmony in the family. He wasn’t a big conversationalist but enjoyed being around others and let Joan do the talking. He was tough as nails and never complained, and was a very caring and loving person at the same time. He only became grouchy when he was overly hungry (just like in the Snickers ad!) He will be dearly missed by all.

Tributes

Ronald Hoff

August 1, 1934 - January 6, 2025