Virginia Ann "Ginger" Hofer

Born in Glendale, California, on September 23, 1929, to Harvey A. Nelson and Marian Norris Nelson.

She loved hiking, being outdoors, traveling, and her family. The granddaughter of Senator George W. Norris of Nebraska, she took his legacy very seriously, spending many years active as a member of the League of Women Voters and an advocate for progressive ideals.

Ginger met Glen D. Hofer at USC in 1950. Glen, attending school on the G.I. Bill after WWII, had been encouraged to attend the university by his cousin, Marge Heilman Turner, who was also Ginger's Alpha Phi sorority sister. It was she who arranged a blind date for Glen and Ginger. Glen later recalled his first reaction upon meeting her at her folk's home in Glendale, California, which was, "WOW!"

Ginger and Glen were married on June 14, 1952, in Glendale, California, at the home of Ginger's parents.

They moved to Waitsburg, Washington, in 1953, as Glen rejoined the Hofer farming operation of his father, Paul S. Hofer, and older brother, Paul E. Ginger, rose to the challenges of being a farm wife and mother in the 1950s with energy and enthusiasm. Quickly embracing the Waitsburg community, she found many lifelong friends there.

In early 1967, Ginger and Glen moved the family to Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C., as Glen went to work for the National Association of Wheat Growers, representing independent wheat producers in the U.S. For Ginger, it was a thrilling opportunity for the family to resonate with her grandfather's legacy of improving the lives of others, as well as to reunite with relatives in the area.

The house in Fairfax became a meeting place for many travelers to the area, but also for friends and neighbors, as Ginger's warm and cheerful spirit welcomed guests. Many conversations about global politics and farming took place there and often included her brother, Harvey Nelson, Jr., and his family along with other extended family in the D.C. area.

After 38 years in Fairfax, Ginger and Glen moved once again, this time to be near Ginger's sister, Jeanne Dewitt Stannard, and Ginger's son, Dan Hofer, in southern California. After a long struggle with health issues, Glen passed away in 2007.

After Glen passed, Ginger reconnected with her passion for hiking. She became active with many like-minded retirees in the Laguna Woods community, hiking trails together in the California hills. There were even some surprising adventures traveling in a group to hike in the lands around Istanbul, Turkiye. Her grandson, Gabriel Hofer, has sweet memories of hiking in Sedona, Arizona, with "Gram" and in Sun River, Oregon, with Gram and his sister, Mariah. At Deep Creek Lake in Maryland, he remembers that Gram would not let Glen smoke his cigar anywhere near their cabin, banishing him to the boat dock for such things.

Especially in the later years, Ginger depended heavily on her son, Dan, who lived only a few minutes away in Irvine, CA. Dan was her link to the world and was instrumental in her daily routine and happiness, for which the family will be forever grateful.

Ginger passed away peacefully on March 27 at the age of 95, with Dan at her side.

Ginger was pre-deceased by her husband of 55 years, Glen, her siblings Harvey Nelson, Jr, and Dewitt Stannard, and her granddaughter, Mariah Hofer. She is survived by her children, Gary Hofer (Cindy Bishop Hofer), Dan Hofer, and Jeanne Alcazar; her grandsons Milton Alcazar, Gabriel, Mans and Ansehl Hofer; and great-granddaughter Kylee Hofer.

A Celebration of Life will be announce in late summer.