Rev. Donald J. Hoffman

From The St. Louis Review - October 31, 2003

A funeral Mass will be celebrated for Father Donald J. Hoffman at 10 a.m. today, Oct. 31, at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church, 1420 S. Sappington Road in Crestwood. Visitation will precede Mass from 9 to 10 a.m.

Father Hoffman, founding pastor of St. John Bosco Parish in Creve Coeur, died Oct. 27 at St. Joseph Hospital in Kirkwood of a pulmonary embolism. He was 75.

A St. Louis native, he attended St. Louis Preparatory Seminary and Kenrick Seminary. He was ordained a priest by then-Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter in 1954.

Father Hoffman’s first assignments were in what is now the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese, as assistant pastor of Sacred Heart in Caruthersville and also serving at St. Cecilia in Kennett.

In 1955 Father Hoffman was named assistant pastor of St. Mary Magdalen in Brentwood, serving there for five years. From 1957 to 1960 he taught at Bishop DuBourg High School.

For several months in 1960 he was part-time assistant pastor at Immacolata in Richmond Heights, then was named assistant pastor at St. James the Greater Parish in South St. Louis. From 1960 until 1972 Father Hoffman also taught at St. Louis Preparatory Seminary South. From 1963 to 1967, he was part-time assistant pastor at Most Precious Blood in Lemay, then was associate pastor of St. Dominic Savio Parish in Affton from 1967 to 1972.

In May 1972 Father Hoffman was named the founding pastor of St. John Bosco Parish, formed to serve Catholics in parts of Maryland Heights and other nearby sections of West St. Louis County. According to parish history, Father Hoffman chose to name the parish after the patron saint of young people, speculating that the parish would have a large population of young single people and young families.

Father Hoffman remained at St. John Bosco until 1987, when he was appointed to the special pastoral counseling apostolate at St. Anthony’s Medical Center and as chaplain at the Ursuline Convent. In 1994 he retired and became senior priest in residence at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in Crestwood.

Father Gary Faust, pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Lemay, recalled his long friendship with Father Hoffman. "My transitional deacon assignment for a year was at St. John Bosco Parish. He was the pastor and really like a priest mentor — just excellent. We struck up a friendship that lasted 26 years.

"He liked young people. That was a big part of his ministry and why he liked that name for the parish," Father Faust said. "He had a full life. He was happy and had done what he liked. He was always open to new ideas and new opportunities. I think that was what made him so encouraging and supportive. And he had a great sense of humor."

Burial will be at Resurrection Cemetery.