Loran Hoffman

Loran Edward Hoffman, age 83, of rural Cushing, departed this life on Sunday, December 28, 2014, after a long illness of posttraumatic stress and dementia. Loran was born to dairy farmers, William and Elve Hoffman, of rural Cushing, on January 13th 1931. He attended a one room Orr elementary school and for a short time, Luck High School. He then went to Grantsburg High School, where he competed in baseball and football, and from some accounts was quite popular with the ladies. Before finishing high school, Loran joined the U.S. Navy and received training as a medical corpsman. After completing hospital corps school and Marine Corps training he was assigned to the 1st Marine Division and shipped out to Korea. Loran saw fighting on the front lines and was responsible for saving many wounded Marines. He was awarded commendations and medals by General Edwin A. Pollock, USMC, for “volunteering to evacuate wounded in the face of heavy enemy fire.” Loran’s response was “I was just doing my job.” After serving his country he returned home and attended his last year of high school. In 1953 Loran fell in love with his sweetheart, Barbara Jean Darmody, and after a long engagement of a week, they were married on New Year’s Eve of 1953. Born to this union were Steven in 1954, Lori in 1957, Lynn in 1959, Scott in 1960, Shawn in 1962, and Spencer in 1964. Loran’s chosen career was carpentry and after graduating from St. Paul vocational college, he started working in the carpentry field. Being a Good Samaritan on his way to an interview, he helped an old timer with his broken down vehicle. This old-timer ended up being the owner of the company he was interviewing for. That was the start of his long career for Freidholm Construction. Loran rose thru the ranks to become a finish carpenter and then foreman of the finishing crew. He was entrusted with many of the high profile clients, including former Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, as well as sports writer, Don Riley, and opera singer, Madam Ziglar. In the early sixties, Loran built a house on Lake Jane near Lake Elmo MN, and then in 1972, he started building his dream home on the historic rolling hills south of his home place known as the John Borup farm. Loran was active in the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church of Grantsburg serving in different board positions, and was also a member of the Knights of Columbus. He was active in the VFW of Lake Elmo, Minnesota, and later the American Legion of Grantsburg, Wisconsin, serving as a color guard member for many funerals, parades, and Memorial Day and Independence Day celebrations. Loran enjoyed being a Boy Scout Leader, playing horseshoes, deer hunting, making maple syrup, studying local history, researching genealogy, fishing, hobby farming, and traveling. He was always working on some project like remodeling one of his historic buildings, creating a wood art project such as the singing quartet at the end of his driveway, or fashioning projects out in the woods like Fort Maple. He is survived by his wife Barbara, brother Joel of Ruckersville, VA; sister Maxine Hauble of St. Paul, MN; sons Steve (Mary), Scott (Cheryl) all of Cushing; daughter Lori of River Falls; daughter Lynn (Jim) Hallgren of Milltown; son Shawn (Sara) of Minneapolis, MN; thirteen grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by an infant brother, Dale; his son, Spencer; his father, William; his mother, Elve; his sister, Elsie; and son-in-law, Craig. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, January 2, 2015 at 11:00 AM (visitation 10-11 AM) at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Grantsburg with Father Tom Thompson as celebrant. Interment will follow at Riverside Cemetery, Grantsburg. A visitation will be held on Thursday, January 1, 2015 from 5-8:30 PM at the funeral home with a prayer service at 6 PM. Arrangements were entrusted to Swedberg-Taylor Funeral Home, Grantsburg. Online condolences can be made at www.swedberg-taylor.com