Stephen J. Hofmann

Stephen J. Hofmann age 63 of Belle Fourche, died after a short battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) on Thursday June 25th, 2009 at the Spearfish Regional Hospital, surrounded by his loving wife and family. The funeral service will be held 11am Wednesday July 1st, 2009 at St. James Lutheran Church in Belle Fourche, with Rev. Kent Stillson officiating. Visitation will be held 5 to 7pm Tuesday at Funeral Home of the Northern Hills in Belle Fourche, and one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be held at Black Hills National Cemetery with Military Honors provided by the Belle Fourche Veterans Honor Guard. Stephen Joel Hofmann was born May 4, 1946 in Huron, South Dakota. He was the son of William and Iona (Johnson) Hofmann. Steve was a 1965 graduate of Huron High School. Following his graduation Steve immediately joined the U.S. Air Force where he served his country during the Vietnam War until 1969. During this time he was stationed in San Antonio, TX and Grand Forks, ND. Afterwards he returned to Huron where he worked for Glenn’s OK Tire Company for a time. On June 10, 1967 Steve was united in marriage to Karen Zeigler in Huron. Following their marriage they lived in Huron, where they raised their family for many years. In 1975, Steve began his service and his “dream job” as Deputy Sheriff for Beadle County. He served for 27 ½ years, retiring in 2002 when him and Karen moved to Belle Fourche to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Throughout his many years of law enforcement, Steve attended numerous schools where he studied Criminal Justice. During his time living in Belle Fourche, Stephen drove school bus for Tri-State Transportation. This was not just a job to him as he loved the kids very much. Stephen was a member of the SD Peace Officers, SD Sheriff’s Association, Belle Fourche Lions Club, Fraternal Order of Police, and the American Legion. Stephen enjoyed fishing, and hunting, and hiking in the hills. He also like to camp and travel with his family and friends. He was a very special husband, father, and grandfather. He will be missed greatly. Stephen is survived by his wife, Karen of Belle Fourche; son, Steven (Sara) of Spearfish; daughter, Sandy (Dale) Kringen of Belle Fourche; grandchildren, Tyler, Alex, Olivia, and Emma; brothers, Dale (Karen) Hofmann of St. George, Utah, Duane (Venita) Frahm of Ogden, Utah, Don (June) Frahm of Utah. He was preceded in death by his parents. FUNERAL SERVICE 11:00 A.M. – Wednesday – July 1st, 2009 Saint James Lutheran Church Belle Fourche, South Dakota OFFICIANTRev. Kent Stillson CASKETBEARERS Jason Brenner                             Delbert Goodwin Gary Buesing                                     Adam Mulder Cal Erhart                                                           Josh Schnider MUSIC Cong. Hymn #856 – “How Great Thou Art” Cong. Hymn #742 – “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” Lanelle Cundall, organist       INTERMENT Black Hills National Cemetery Sturgis, South Dakota