Martin W. Hoffman, 76, of Bloomfield, passed away peacefully on Wednesday night (August 12, 2009) at his home after a long, courageous battle against Multiple Sclerosis. He was surrounded by his family.
“Marty” was born in Hartford and lived his entire life in the Greater Hartford area. He graduated from Weaver High School in 1951 and Hillyer College (University of Hartford) in 1955. While at Weaver, he captained the tennis team and won the state doubles title. While at Hillyer, he was the class Valedictorian, won the coveted Wall Street Journal Award, and captained the tennis team, losing only once during his four year collegiate career. Nearly 50 years later, in 2003, he was honored by the University of Hartford Alumni Athletics Hall of Fame and presented with its prestigious Pioneer Award. Following college, he served in the United States Army for two years. In 1962, he earned his law degree from the University of Connecticut, and for the next 40 years practiced law in the Hartford area, specializing in bankruptcy law. Considered a “dean” of the Connecticut bankruptcy bar, he was continuously recognized by Best Lawyers in America as one of the top bankruptcy attorneys in the country, and in 1991 was selected by The Connecticut Law Tribune as one of the top three bankruptcy lawyers in the state. One of the highlights of his long, distinguished career occurred in 1989, when he had the rare opportunity and honor to argue a case in front of the United States Supreme Court.
Despite all of his professional, academic, and athletic achievements, Marty considered his family to be his greatest accomplishment. He was a dedicated, loyal, loving and caring husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend, and will be greatly missed by his loving wife, Ferne, his daughter and son-in-law, Julie and David Hersh of Bridgewater, NJ; his son and daughter-in-law, Hank and Ellen Hoffman of Farmington; his son and daughter-in-law, Lee and Jamie Hoffman of New York, NY; his seven beloved grandchildren: Shayna, Matthew, Ian, Tyler, Danielle, Zachary and Jake; and his sister and brother-in-law, Barbara and Robert Simons of West Hartford.
Funeral services will be held TODAY, August 14, at 11 a.m. at Weinstein Mortuary, 640 Farmington Avenue, Hartford. Burial will be held following the services at Beth Israel Cemetery, Avon. A memorial period will be observed at 9 Farnham Way, Farmington on Friday following the burial, and at 9 Avery Road, Bloomfield on Saturday from 7:30 p.m. -10 p.m. and Sunday from 12 Noon, until 5 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to the McLean Hospice Program, 75 Great Pond Road, Simsbury, CT 06070 and the National MS Society, P.O. Box 4527, New York, NY 10163 (nationalmssociety.org).
