Frieda Hoffmann

To view the Live Stream of Frieda's Mass, please Click Here at 9:55 AM EST on Thursday, January 27, 2022. 

Frieda Juliana Hoffmann, 94, formerly of Chester Springs, passed away January 19, 2022 in Brentwood, TN. She was the wife of the late William I. Hoffmann.

Born in Bieberehren, Bavaria, Germany on July 9, 1927, Frieda was the daughter of the late George and Theresa Klee. At age three, she and her mother traveled to the United States to join her father and settle in Mount Kisco, New York. Early on, she developed an interest in art, which became a lifelong pastime. She enjoyed helping her father, a carpenter by trade, as he built several houses during the time she grew up, even drawing plans to be submitted for building permits. After graduating in 1945 from St. Mary's High School in Katonah, she attended the Wood School for secretarial training, and worked successfully in that capacity, on and off for different employers, during the next two decades of her life. 

Frieda married William I. Hoffmann in 1949. Following his return from naval service during the Korean War, the couple traveled the U.S. together in support of William’s career as a field service engineer for Electro-Motive Division, General Motors, even living temporarily in Cuba prior to the Castro regime. They eventually moved to Woodbridge, Connecticut, where some years later they welcomed the births of their daughter and son. After a brief relocation to Armonk, New York, they settled in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, where they lived for over four decades. Mutual health concerns ultimately prompted their relocation to a nearby retirement community, and Frieda was widowed in 2016. She subsequently moved to Brentwood, Tennessee to live closer to her daughter.  

Throughout her life, Frieda dedicated herself to compassionately caring for other people, for years at a time. This succession included her father-in-law, her mother, her uncle, an elderly family friend, and finally her husband, during a lengthy and difficult period of illness prior to his passing. Meanwhile, she raised their children, and somehow also managed to find time for other activities such as managing the family finances and educating herself as an astute amateur investor. 

But creative pursuits invariably brought Frieda the most satisfaction and joy in life. She froze fresh vegetables and fruits grown by her green-thumbed husband, made jams and jellies of all kinds, and baked sourdough bread. She enjoyed making seasonal decorations for her home, and she possessed a natural eye for composition, arranging anything from flowers to furniture to great effect. She was an accomplished seamstress, who as a young woman made her own wedding gown, then years later made her daughter's prom gown, as well as many other clothes for herself and other people along the way. She sewed numerous draperies, slipcovers, and decorative pillows for her own home and those of others. Over the years, she took art classes in pastel portraiture, oil painting, and watercolor painting, producing beautiful works in all of these media. In fact, she continued to enjoy painting with watercolors until shortly before her death.

She is survived by her children, Frances Geshwiler (Andy) and William Hoffmann (Kerri), and granddaughter, Faith Geshwiler.

Mass of Christian Burial will be on Thursday, January 27, 2022 at 10 AM at St. Elizabeth’s Church, 120 St. Elizabeth Dr., Chester Springs, PA 19425. Viewing will be from 8:45 to 9:45 AM prior to the mass at church. Burial will be in All Souls Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Frieda’s memory to Historic Yellow Springs. 

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