Winona A. Hoffman, 94, a longtime resident of Waterbury Center,
passed away at the Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin on Thursday,
June 24, 2010. Born in Waterbury Center on August 31, 1915, she was the
daughter of the late Walter J. and Ethel (Morrison) Ayers. On April 5,
1941, she married Elmer P. Hoffman in Waterbury Center. Elmer
predeceased Winona on March 2, 1996.
Winona was a 1932 graduate of Waterbury High School and continued her
education at the Johnson Normal School, graduating in 1934. Winona
taught school for two years in Warren and one year on Crossett Hill in
Duxbury and then worked as a private housekeeper for several years.
Following her marriage, she and Elmer worked together on the former W.O.
Comstock Farm in Berlin.
Deeply involved in the Waterbury community, Winona worked in the
Waterbury Center Library for 14 years and worked for 11 years in the
Waterbury Village Library where she also served as the librarian,
retiring on September 19, 1981. Winona served as a justice of the peace
for 20 years, was a member of the Waterbury Board of Civil Authority,
served as a member and president of the former Waterbury PTA and worked
on the Waterbury Community Calendar for many years.
Her other memberships included the Waterbury High School Alumni
Association where she served as secretary, served one year as president
of the Public Library Section of the Vermont Library Association, was a
member of Waterbury Grange #237 and the Waterbury Center Community
Church, was a volunteer "red phone operator" for the Waterbury Ambulance
Service, and was regionally recognized as the "Birthday and Anniversary
Lady" on WDEV for many years.
Winona is survived by her daughter-in-law, Cheryl Hoffman of Waterbury
Center; her grandchildren, John P. Hoffman Jr. and his wife Judy of
Keene, NH, and Kathleen Ansari of St. Albans; four great-granddaughters,
Beatrice Hoffman, Sola Hoffman, Aliyah Hoffman and Soukaina Jamil; and
her sister, Cora A. Howes of Waterbury. Her son, John P. Hoffman Sr., a
sister, Ada Griffin, and a brother, Justin Ayers, predeceased Winona.
Friends called at the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home in Waterbury on
Monday.
Graveside services were held from the Waterbury Center Cemetery on June
29 at 11 a.m. The family requests that flowers be omitted; rather
memorial gifts would be appreciated to the Waterbury Center Community
Church, P.O. Box 216, Waterbury Center, VT 05677, or to Central Vermont
Home Health and Hospice, 600 Granger Road, Barre, VT 05641
(www.cvhhh.org). To send online condolences, please visit
www.perkinsparker.com.
