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December 31, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Saturday, January 10, 2015 from 2-5 PM. This will be followed at 5 PM by a prayer service at the funeral home, officiated by Rev. Eric Nichols of the Preakness Reformed Church of Wayne.
Walter F. Hoffmann age 90, prominent New Jersey Democrat, acknowledged civil rights attorney and tireless advocate for world peace, died on Wednesday, December 31, 2014.
He was born in Newark, grew up in Glen Ridge and spent most of his adult life in Wayne NJ. Walter was an Eagle Scout, graduated from Glen Ridge High School in 1942 and served in the Marine Corp in the Pacific in WW II. Walt was stationed on Tinian Island as a member of the 18th Anti-Aircraft Battalion when the Enola Gay took off from Tinian for Hiroshima, August 6th, 1945.
Walter graduated from the University of Michigan in 1948 and the University of Chicago Law School in 1951, where he was on the staff of Law Review. After law school, he was a bill drafter for the Illinois legislature, a trial attorney for the National Labor Relations Board and a staff attorney for the U.S. House Ways and Means subcommittee investigating the administration of the IRS. He then returned to New Jersey and was a founding partner of Hoffmann, Humphreys & Lafer, which later became Hoffmann & Fiorello in Wayne. From his offices on Hamburg Turnpike and later Valley Road, Walter earned a reputation for honesty, hard work and loyalty to his clients.
Active in Wayne politics, Walt was elected as 2nd Ward Councilman in 1963 and served until 1971. His newsletters, open office hours and door to door campaigning made him popular with constituents in the 2nd Ward. In 1969, he was the Democratic Party candidate for Mayor and placed 2nd in a tight 3 way race. He was also a Democratic Ward Leader, Municipal Chair, candidate for NJ Assembly in 1972, Assistant County Counsel for Passaic County in 1975-76 and a Delegate to the 1980 Democratic Convention in New York.
Political courage never failed him. As a civil rights attorney in the 1960’s, Walter successfully challenged residential covenants in NJ communities that excluded home owners based on race and religion. He was Chair of the Legal Redress Committee of the Passaic County branch of the NAACP and in the face of strong opposition, represented a Wayne school teacher who was fired for not saying “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Passionate for U.N. reform, Walter was a member of World Peace Through Law, founder of the Campaign For U.N. Reform, Center for UN Reform Education and Executive Director of the World Federalists Association in Washington, D.C. In 1993, he was appointed by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to serve on The Commission on Improving the Effectiveness of the United Nations.
In his spare time, Walter was a Deacon at the Preakness Reformed Church, President of Wayne Kiwanis Club, Boy Scout Merit Badge Counselor and Adjunct College Professor at William Patterson and Ramapo Colleges, teaching courses in Government and Political science.
At the University of Michigan, Walter met his first wife, the former Lois Anne Johnson. They married in 1948 and had a good and loving marriage for 52 years until Lois’s passing in 2000. He remarried in 2003 to Nancy Cecere and enjoyed their 12 years together travelling and living in Cedar Crest Village.
No one who met Walter will forget him, not his family, not his friends or office staff, or fellow travelers anywhere. He genuinely wanted to know people and what was important in their lives. His integrity, wise counsel and joy in his family will be missed.
He is survived by his wife Nancy, daughters, Anne Hoffmann, Laura Calixte, son, Charles Walter Hoffmann (Susan), three grandchildren: Sylvianne Mulholland (Michael), Raymond Walter and Gregory Hoffmann; and two great-grandchildren, Jackson Walter and Kellen Mulholland.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in Walter’s name to the World Federalist Movement 708 Third Avenue, #1705, NYC, NY 10017 or Citizens For Global Solutions 420 7th St SE Washington, D.C. 20003.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Saturday, January 10, 2015 from 2-5 PM. This will be followed at 5 PM by a prayer service at the funeral home, officiated by Rev. Eric Nichols of the Preakness Reformed Church of Wayne.
December 31, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Saturday, January 10, 2015 from 2-5 PM. This will be followed at 5 PM by a prayer service at the funeral home, officiated by Rev. Eric Nichols of the Preakness Reformed Church of Wayne.
Walter F. Hoffmann age 90, prominent New Jersey Democrat, acknowledged civil rights attorney and tireless advocate for world peace, died on Wednesday, December 31, 2014.
He was born in Newark, grew up in Glen Ridge and spent most of his adult life in Wayne NJ. Walter was an Eagle Scout, graduated from Glen Ridge High School in 1942 and served in the Marine Corp in the Pacific in WW II. Walt was stationed on Tinian Island as a member of the 18th Anti-Aircraft Battalion when the Enola Gay took off from Tinian for Hiroshima, August 6th, 1945.
Walter graduated from the University of Michigan in 1948 and the University of Chicago Law School in 1951, where he was on the staff of Law Review. After law school, he was a bill drafter for the Illinois legislature, a trial attorney for the National Labor Relations Board and a staff attorney for the U.S. House Ways and Means subcommittee investigating the administration of the IRS. He then returned to New Jersey and was a founding partner of Hoffmann, Humphreys & Lafer, which later became Hoffmann & Fiorello in Wayne. From his offices on Hamburg Turnpike and later Valley Road, Walter earned a reputation for honesty, hard work and loyalty to his clients.
Active in Wayne politics, Walt was elected as 2nd Ward Councilman in 1963 and served until 1971. His newsletters, open office hours and door to door campaigning made him popular with constituents in the 2nd Ward. In 1969, he was the Democratic Party candidate for Mayor and placed 2nd in a tight 3 way race. He was also a Democratic Ward Leader, Municipal Chair, candidate for NJ Assembly in 1972, Assistant County Counsel for Passaic County in 1975-76 and a Delegate to the 1980 Democratic Convention in New York.
Political courage never failed him. As a civil rights attorney in the 1960’s, Walter successfully challenged residential covenants in NJ communities that excluded home owners based on race and religion. He was Chair of the Legal Redress Committee of the Passaic County branch of the NAACP and in the face of strong opposition, represented a Wayne school teacher who was fired for not saying “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Passionate for U.N. reform, Walter was a member of World Peace Through Law, founder of the Campaign For U.N. Reform, Center for UN Reform Education and Executive Director of the World Federalists Association in Washington, D.C. In 1993, he was appointed by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to serve on The Commission on Improving the Effectiveness of the United Nations.
In his spare time, Walter was a Deacon at the Preakness Reformed Church, President of Wayne Kiwanis Club, Boy Scout Merit Badge Counselor and Adjunct College Professor at William Patterson and Ramapo Colleges, teaching courses in Government and Political science.
At the University of Michigan, Walter met his first wife, the former Lois Anne Johnson. They married in 1948 and had a good and loving marriage for 52 years until Lois’s passing in 2000. He remarried in 2003 to Nancy Cecere and enjoyed their 12 years together travelling and living in Cedar Crest Village.
No one who met Walter will forget him, not his family, not his friends or office staff, or fellow travelers anywhere. He genuinely wanted to know people and what was important in their lives. His integrity, wise counsel and joy in his family will be missed.
He is survived by his wife Nancy, daughters, Anne Hoffmann, Laura Calixte, son, Charles Walter Hoffmann (Susan), three grandchildren: Sylvianne Mulholland (Michael), Raymond Walter and Gregory Hoffmann; and two great-grandchildren, Jackson Walter and Kellen Mulholland.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in Walter’s name to the World Federalist Movement 708 Third Avenue, #1705, NYC, NY 10017 or Citizens For Global Solutions 420 7th St SE Washington, D.C. 20003.
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