John Harold Hoffman

September 7, 1929 - February 3, 2021

Loving husband, father and grandfather, John Hoffman, passed away on February 3rd at the age of 91. John, the son of the late John and Helen (Sklenar) Hoffman, was born in Winona, MN on September 7, 1929. He graduated from St. Mary’s University in Winona in 1951 and obtained his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1959. He met his future wife, Judy Poncelet, at the university and they were married in 1959. John and Judy moved to the Washington D.C. area where John worked for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory developing mass spectrometers for atmospheric research. While in the DC area, their children, Rita, Greg, and Julie were born. They moved to Dallas in 1966, when John became a research scientist at the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest which became UT Dallas in 1969. Their fourth child, Peggy, was born soon after moving to Dallas. During his 50-year career at UT Dallas, John designed and built scientific experiments that flew on the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 lunar missions. His experiment on Apollo 17 was placed on the moon to determine the composition of the lunar atmosphere and is still there today. He had an experiment on the Pioneer mission to Venus in 1978, one that went through the tail of Halley’s Comet in 1986 and many experiments on atmospheric satellites through the years. His experiment on the Phoenix mission to Mars in 2007 definitively confirmed the existence of water on Mars. John was one of the founding faculty members at UT Dallas and loved to teach. His incredible sense of humor and his ability to create awe and wonder of the universe made him a favorite among his students. He was awarded the UT Chancellor’s Council Outstanding Teacher Award in 1988. He was head of the Department of Physics for 24 years and was Associate Dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics for many years. He retired in 2017 as Professor Emeritus of Physics.

His love of music equaled his love of science. While working on his PhD at the University of Minnesota, he played oboe in the Minneapolis Civic Orchestra. He was the volunteer Band Director at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School for many years. When he was older, he played his clarinet in several community bands playing well into his 80s. He loved playing for the community and was always going to a gig. He instilled his love of music in his children and grandchildren.

John loved to travel with his family. Every summer, they would load up their red and white bus and drive around the US and Canada and had lots of crazy adventures. They even spent a year in Germany, while he worked with the European Space Agency on the Halley’s Comet experiment. Later in life, he discovered a love for cruising and enjoyed his travels around Europe, Alaska, and Hawaii.

His beloved wife, Judy, passed away in July 2002. He is survived by his children and their spouses: Rita and Ron Gibson, Greg and Sharon Hoffman, Julie and Michael Condy, and Peggy Hoffman, and his wonderful grandchildren: Michael and Megan Hoffman, Katie Hoffman, Gregory Hoffman, Kevin Condy, Emily Hoffman, Kelly Condy, Patrick Hoffman, Christopher Hoffman, and Lexi Hoffman. He is also survived by his brother, Dr. Robert Hoffman of Berlin, Maryland and many nieces and nephews. Visitation will begin at 5:00pm on March 12 at the St. Paul the Apostle Parish Center located at 900 Saint Paul Drive in Richardson. Remarks and Vigil Service with a Rosary will follow at 6:30pm. The Mass of The Resurrection will be held on March 13 at 11:30am at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church located at 720 S. Floyd Drive in Richardson. St. Paul’s is enforcing Covid restrictions. Masks must be worn at all times and social distancing will be followed. The Mass will be live-streamed at https://www.facebook.com/saintpaulchurch. Interment will be at Calvary Hill Cemetery.

The family has established a scholarship at UT Dallas in their father’s name to assist undergraduate physics majors in obtaining their degree. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made at https://giving.utdallas.edu/hoffman.

Copy and paste https://www.utdallas.edu/news/faculty-staff/john-hoffman-tribute-2021/ to read an article on John and his time at UTD.