Memorial services for Joseph "Joe" Hoff, age 84, of Lemmon, SD, will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at the Spencer Memorial Presbyterian Church in Lemmon, SD.  Pastor Florence Hoff and Pastor Barb West will officiate with burial to be held at a later date.

Joseph N. Hoff was born on April 12, 1934, to Nicodemus and Francis (Kuntz) Hoff on the family farm south of White Butte, SD.  He was the 10 ^th child in the family.  Following his father's death, the family moved into Lemmon and Joe attended grade school there.

Joe was united in marriage to Leona Weiss in 1953.  Douglas and Sheila were born to that union; which ended in divorce.  Joe received custody of his children and raised them, along with the help of his mother.  In 1962 he married Florence Hopkins.  At that point, the kids were 6 and 8 years old and to that readymade family they added John Joseph in 1965 and Lorilei Dawn in 1966.

Except for two years in Nebraska, Joe spent his entire life in Lemmon where he was a well known mechanic and businessman.  He worked for Roy Louis, Hersruds and Lemmon Auto.  He grew tired of always having to threaten to quit in order to get a raise so he bought the old vacant Humble Gas and Oil Station on E. Hwy 12 and went out on his own in 1971.  In a couple of years he built the truck stall on the west side to accommodate the extra business.  It was a very successful venture and he made a good living for his family there for many years.

Joe loved to hunt deer, antelope, pheasant and geese but he really preferred fishing.  His love of fishing started early when he would hitchhike to Flat Creek, catch a batch of fish and then catch another ride home.  Some of his favorite spots were the Spillway, Shadehill Reservoir, North Grand River, Malloy Dam, E. Morristown Lake and North Lemmon.  His family never needed to buy fish.

The Food Pantry was a regular spot for Joe on Friday nights.  He carried out cases of food for them to stock and doubled bags and enjoyed visiting and helping others.  For 10 years their home became "home" for many foster kids.  They remember fondly their times of snuggling in the recliner with Joe and the many fishing trips.  Joe had a 5 bypass open heart surgery in 2007 and had several good years following that.

After his diagnosis of kidney cancer and congestive heart failure, he settled into a life in the house.  He read every devotional and fishing magazine he could get his hands on and watched the birds and squirrels out the window.  He was very patient and he never complained about his fate.

He was a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church first in Lemmon and then in Bison for the last 20 years.  Joe was an ordained deacon, a believer in the Lord and will be remembered as a loving father, husband, grandfather and friend.

Joe passed away on Valentine's Day, Thursday, February 14, 2019 at his home in Lemmon.  His wishes were to die at home in his own bed and that was accomplished with the wonderful help of Bart Damjanovich.  His second wish was that his wife would deliver his funeral message, and Florence will attempt to do that.  His biggest desire was to always please others—with a big smile.

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Florence Hoff; sons, John Hoff (Fionna Harrington) Farmington, NM, and Douglas (Joyce) Hoff, Regent, ND; daughters, Lorilei (Billy) Sattler, Lemmon, SD and Sheila (Mike) Hellman, Glen Ullin, ND; grandchildren, Logan Robinson, Gabe Hoff, Sarah Hoff, Ben Hoff, Jenna Sattler (Derek Galt), Sierra Sattler, Stephanie (Kyle) Johnson, Kylie (Sam) Schaaf, Christa (Jason) Hellman, Rachael (Justin) Hankin, Cordell (Abbey) Hoff, Todd (Mykin) Hoff, Steven (Hailey) Hoff; five great-grandchildren; special foster daughter, Sandy Hosman-Christman (Levi) and their children, Trevor and Stacia Christman; one sister, Katie Kling, Lemmon, SD; two sisters-in-law, Josephine Hoff, Ephrata, WA and Linda (Chuck) Hanhart, Noblesville, IN; brother-in-law, Wayne (Diane) Hopkins, Wilmot, SD; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins and all past foster kids.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents; nine siblings and one grandson.