Putting Others First

Late Ohop Board Member Frank Hoffman served his community and family passionately

By Rick Stedman

It’s been a year since former Ohop Mutual
Light Co. Board member Frank Hoffman
passed away at the age of 91. Frank spent
40 years serving the community on the
Ohop board.

Frank held many titles over the years,
including son, brother, father, uncle, dad,
grandpa, machinist, volunteer board
member, hunter, builder, friend and
husband. Frank married Laura Lathrom on
Oct. 18, 1958. His life would never be the
same. They demonstrated the meaning of
true love to their children throughout their
65-year marriage.

“One of his endearing qualities was
service to others,” Laura says. “As an Ohop
Mutual Board member, Frank always had
the customers’ interest in mind.”

In addition to helping others whenever
he could, capturing his life experiences
on paper was another priority. In recent
years, Frank and Laura wrote down
their reflections on life. From their own
perspective, each captured stories of their
life—from childhood memories to their
most recent life experiences and everything
in between.

Ohop Mutual Board Member
When Frank began serving as an Ohop
Mutual Board member in 1982, his service
to the utility company came full circle. As a
teenager, Frank and his family did not have
electric power to their home, due to its
remote location. They eventually worked
out a deal with Ohop Mutual to have
power to their farm.

To compensate Ohop, the 19-year-old
Frank shoveled, by hand, all the holes for
light poles on a 1¼ mile stretch of road. In
addition, he dug holes near Silver Lake and
cut brush for the power company.

That experience of living without
electric power gave Frank a different
perspective on customers. As an Ohop
Mutual Board member, he was in tune
with customers’ wants and needs, and
fully understood their challenges from a
customer perspective.

Farm and Family
Frank always loved working with his
hands. He spent 34 years as a machinist
with Western Machine Works in Tacoma.
Because he was such a dedicated employee,
he was rewarded handsomely upon
retirement. Frank’s boss presented him
with two round-trip tickets to Europe.
In 1993, Frank and Laura spent five
weeks touring Europe. They visited
relatives and spent a lot of time sightseeing.

Frank also visited the home where
his mother, Anna, grew up.
Back in Washington, Frank had a
huge appreciation for his home and the
bucolic property it sat on. In 1956, two
years before he married Laura, they began
building their home, little by little. Based
on their limited funds, it took them a
few more years to get the house in living
condition.

“It was a while before we had running
water and electricity,” Laura says.
Frank built their house by hand, cutting
down the trees and using the lumber to
create their initial two-bedroom, 900-
square-foot house. Over the years, as
their family gradually increased by four
children, they expanded the home to 2,000
square feet.

“It was a very comfortable place to live,
with a beautiful view of Mount Rainier,”
Frank wrote.

Raising four kids—Monica, Sheila,
Frank Jr. and Mike—filled his life with
joyful memories and experiences.

Appreciation for Nature
Frank loved the outdoors. After attending
mass, he and his family often headed to the
Elbe Hills area to ride trail bikes or hunt.

Since his early teens, Frank was an avid
hunter. When he was young, the elk and
deer moved down into the lowlands and
started grazing in his field along with his
cows.

“Right on my property behind Frankie’s
house, I had a bull elk in my sites,” Frank
wrote of the last time he hunted. “He was
less than 150 feet away, and I could have
easily taken him. Instead, I lowered my
gun and watched him walk away, and I felt
really good doing so. I never hunted again.
Now, I enjoy watching the elk and deer
grazing in my field along with my cattle.”

Frank was always in touch with Mother
Nature and the environment. Many of
the lessons he learned came directly from
his father, Franz. One, in particular, was
placing bells on each cow.

“I liked to listen to them in the evening
when they are feeding down by the creek,”
Frank wrote in his journal. “It’s almost like
a concert. Even today, I still have cows with
bells. When I no longer have cows, the
concert will end.”

Animals that he appreciated—and that
sometimes called his property home—
included elk, deer, ruffed grouse, cottontail
rabbits and mourning doves.

Frank’s connection with nature
transcended his physical presence here on
Earth. The day after he died, a herd of 30
elk made their way to his field. Stopping
for a few minutes, they sniffed the crisp air
and nodded toward his house, as if bidding
him farewell. The herd then silently slipped
into the forest.

Like Frank, they were gone
but not forgotten.