Edwin Julian Hoffman

Edwin (Ed) Julian Hoffman, 86, of Frederick and longtime resident of Middletown, passed away at Homewood, Wednesday, March 22, 2023.   He was the husband of Melanie Hoffman for 50 years, who predeceased him in 2014.  Ed was born on February 12, 1937, in Springfield, MO.  He was the son of the late Edwin William and Anita (Dingeldein) Hoffman. Ed is survived by his sister Carolyn (Hoffman) Wolfe.  Surviving in addition to his sister are four children:  son Ed (June) Hoffman of Coral Springs, FL; daughter Julie (Doug) Chappell of Frederick, MD; daughter Sherri (Doug) Calhoun of Raleigh, NC; daughter Kari (Brian) Lussier of Denver, CO; AFS son Jure (Marijana) Petic of Maribor, Slovenia.  Ed is also survived by his beloved grandchildren:  Eddie, Addison, Rowan; Justin, Luke, Nathan, Kalinn; Ryan (Hannah), Nick, Jillian, Eric; Filip and Marko.  

Ed graduated from Drury College in 1959, majoring in Chemistry.  He was drafted into the U.S. Army in the early 1960s and after basic training came to Fort Detrick where he served for 2 years.  It was there that he started his career in Virology.  He worked in several different laboratories and spent the latter part of his career at Georgetown University until retirement in 2002.  He was part of teams that studied and worked for treatments with RSV, Hepatitis and HIV.  He stayed active in retirement volunteering weekly at the Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Needs until COVID shutdowns in 2020.  

Ed was a man of strong faith who valued his community. As a young adult, he stayed active in the Boy Scouts of America by volunteering as a Scout Master.  He was a member of the Frederick Jaycees for many years. He enjoyed sharing stories about volunteering at the Women’s Olympic trials held in Frederick in 1972 and loved to wear the tie received at that event on patriotic holidays.  Ed was very active in the establishment of the Middletown Valley Athletic Association as well as coaching basketball, baseball and umpiring for years even after his children had aged out of the MVAA.   He was a proud recipient of the MVAA lifetime achievement award.  Ed held many leadership positions in community organizations including PTA President, Superintendent of Sunday School, and Head Deacon.  He was a Sunday school teacher for 25 years and served as a leader on the Christian education, property and finance committees at Evangelical Reformed UCC.  He was a devoted member of the ERUCC Senior Choir as well as the Noteables at Homewood.  Ed shared his faith beyond the church walls by going on mission trips to support areas impacted by natural disasters.  He was instrumental in finding ways to provide shelter to the homeless in Frederick and coordinated volunteers from ERUCC to assist at the cold weather shelter for 20 years.  Ed enjoyed traveling the world with Melanie and supporting those that wanted to experience life in different cultures through the AFS exchange programs. In retirement Ed enjoyed spending time with life-long “bridge” friends, his church family, reconnecting with friends from Fort Detrick days and meeting new friends through travel with AARP. He was an avid supporter of his family's activities, attending countless concerts, dance recitals, football, soccer, basketball and baseball games.

The family will receive friends at the Stauffer Funeral Home, 1621 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, on Friday, March 31, 2023, from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m.  A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at 3 p.m. at Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ, 15 West Church Street, Frederick. A live stream of the service will be available at erucc.org.   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be mailed to The Community Foundation of Frederick County, 312 East Church St. Frederick, MD 21701, with HOFFMAN noted in the check’s memo line. Secure, online donations may be made at www.FrederickCountyGives.org/Hoffman