Robert "Bob" Anthony Hoffman

Hastings resident Robert “Bob” Anthony Hoffman, 75, passed away Monday, July 28, 2025, at Mary Lanning Healthcare, Hastings, NE.

Rosary will be at 7 p.m. Friday, August 1, at Butler Volland Chapel. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, August 2, at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Hastings with Father Craig Clinch officiating. Burial with military rites by Hastings Military Honor Guard will be held at a later date at Parkview Cemetery in Hastings. Visitation will be 1-7 p.m. with the family present 5-7 p.m. Friday, August 1, at the funeral home, and one hour before the service at the church. Memorials may be given to St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital, Shriners Hospital, or Paralyzed Veterans of America. The service will be live-streamed on Livingston Butler Volland Funeral Home’s website. To view the service, go to Bob’s obituary and click the play button shown toward the bottom of the page. 

Robert “Bob” Anthony Hoffman was born June 24, 1950, the fourth of four children to Dominic “Dim” and Elizabeth “Liz” (Dempewolf) Hoffman of Juniata, NE. Bob grew up on the family farm where his strong Catholic faith and love of farming were cultivated. He attended school in the Assumption and Juniata districts, graduating as part of the first senior class of Adams Central High School in 1968.

After graduation, Bob enlisted in the Air Force Guard and served from 1968 to 1973. His service later inspired his son Aaron to enlist in the United State Air Force. In 1973, he was called back to the family farm where he dutifully cared for his parents, Dim and Liz, until their deaths in 1982 and 1980, respectfully. During that time, Bob also made precious memories with his nieces and nephews that frequently visited the farm. They adored him like a big brother as he made time for them even in the smallest of ways like going for rides in his 1969 Pontiac Firebird or playing basketball outside the barn.

Bob began his career in farming soon after his graduation from high school and continued some even after his enlistment. For decades, he raised hogs, corn, and soybeans in the Juniata area with his brother John before Bob retired from farming in 1998. During those years, he nurtured a love of farming in his two sons Mason and Aaron, with Mason continuing in his footsteps a few years later.

Bob married the love of his life, Marilyn Rae Ball on January 24, 1981, at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church in Hastings, NE. To this union three children were born, Mason, Aaron, and Acacia. Bob and Marilyn made their home in various places in the Hastings and Juniata areas before settling on a family farm on the south side of Juniata, NE in 1994. There they made many happy memories and welcomed five grandchildren as well.

Bob always loved finding a great bargain, a good bowl of ice cream, and his grandbabies. He was always bringing home secondhand toy treasures for the grandkids and helping them scooping out a second helping of strawberry cheesecake ice cream. Late night ice cream treats were such a beloved tradition, a simple clink of a metal spoon in a bowl beckoned grandkids to the kitchen door in a flash.

Bob was preceded in death by his eldest sister, Catherine Hemberger and brother-in-law, Kenny Hemberger; his nephew, Kevin Hemberger; and his parents, Dominic and Elizabeth Hoffman.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Marilyn (Ball) Hoffman of Hastings; sons, Mason and his wife Michelle Hoffman and their children Mara, Natalie, and Theodore “Tate” of Juniata, NE, and Aaron Hoffman of Hastings, NE; and daughter, Acacia Hoffman and her daughters Rainey and Lili of Oregon; his sister, Betty (Ronald) Phillips of Omaha, NE; and his brother, John (Leslie) Hoffman of Juniata, NE; along with many nieces, nephews, and friends.