Shirley Hoffman

Shirley Stone Hoffman

02/27/1938-01/14/2023

We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Shirley Stone Hoffman of Longmont, Colorado. She fought a courageous battle with health issues and was surrounded by her loved ones when she passed on January 14, 2023.

She is survived by her loving partner Paul A. Deeter, brother David Crane (Christine), children Donna Hoffman, Sherri Cooper (Rick), JJ Hoffman (Ida), and Katie Stafford (Lee), ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Born February 27, 1938 in Yonkers, New York, Shirley was adopted by Betty “BB” & Roger Stone and moved to historic Ardentown, Delaware. It wasn't until she was 83 years old that Shirley was blessed to find out she had a brother, David, who lives in Boston. The two met recently when David came to Colorado for a visit which was a magical time. She attended primary schools locally and was very involved in the local theater group, at the Candlelight Theater. Her Quaker upbringing led her to attend The Friends School, in Wilmington, Delaware.

She attended Endicott Junior College in Massachusetts. After college she married George Witman with whom she had two daughters, Donna and Sherri. Her first job out of college was working at the First Unitarian Church of Wilmington. She and the girls spent their summers in Deer Isle, Maine where Shirley worked as the administrator of Les Chalet Francais, an all-girls French camp.

After Shirley and George Witman divorced, her professional career continued as she moved to the Head Clerk and Recorder position for the Justice of the Peace, State of Delaware, Criminal Court #14 in Wilmington.

She married John Hoffman in 1968. They moved to Lakewood, Colorado in 1969 where they welcomed the birth of their son, John Jr. “JJ”. Shirley and John started an estate liquidation business “Hoffman Enterprises” which involved the entire family with weekend estate auctions and buying and selling of antiques. Shirley was very active in her community, volunteering in Girl Scouts as a troop leader and district cookie sales chairman. Upon the tragic death of a Scout member's mother and father, Shirley and John welcomed Katie and Rana into their growing family. It was then the family moved to a farm in Broomfield, Colorado where her passion for horses grew.

While living in Broomfield, Shirley continued with Scouting and horsemanship. She became a member of the High School Rodeo Association where she sat on the State Board, while also organizing Broomfield's High School Rodeo Team. Shirley’s professional career took her to many new management positions: A Child's Adventureland, Miller Stockman and A&E Office Supply.

After helping a nearby horse farm recover from a fire, the family gifted her a chestnut filly named “Copper Delight”. This would be her first American Saddlebred (ASB) horse, which led her down a new path in the horse world.

After a few years of horsing around, Shirley moved the family to Longmont, Colorado in 1983 and established Hi View Acres where she combined her love of horses and dogs. Shirley and the family spent weekends attending Schutzhund training in the local park with her shepherds, and horse shows across the front range . She continued to expand her breeding of ASB & National show (NSH) horse’s operation. She was dedicated to promoting the breed through her involvement with the American Saddlebred Horse Association, National Show Horse Association.

Shirley had the gift of gab! She dedicated many years of her life in her booth at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo educating and recruiting new members for the ASB association. For many years, Shirley and her family traveled throughout Colorado and other states to show and compete in the horse show world. Shirley was devoted to all animals, especially her passion for horses. She was recognized by Colorado Horsemen’s Council in 1994, as Horseperson of the Year.

Shirley traveled to Essen, Germany to attend a horse expo at Equitana where she promoted tourism for the State of Colorado, ASB and NSH breeds, her equine export business and stateside at Americana. She dreamed about bringing Equitana to Colorado and this is how the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo was born. That big dream gave birth to the Expo. She was one of the founding members of the RMHE, which grew to become one of the premier horse expositions in Colorado.

Shirley was also very active on numerous horse show boards, carriage clubs, and horse club associations throughout her life. She strived to make the world a better place for horses by founding her horse rescue, HORSES FOREVER. It became one of the largest ASB rescue operations in the United States. In addition, she helped to organize the Colorado Horse Rescue Coalition for the State of Colorado to optimize the efforts of all horse rescues. She was a strong supporter and advocate to stop horse slaughter in the United States and was active in protecting the wild horse herds from being rounded up. She was involved with the WHIP Program, (Wild Horse Inmate Program), which not only rehabilitated inmates but also prevented wild horses from going to slaughter.

We all know Shirley loved a good fight! The bigger the challenge, the bigger the fight. She was passionate about what she believed in and loved to debate. She was powerful with her words and always went to the top! She had the heads of corporations and their phone numbers in her Rolodex. Shirley empowered people, especially women, to have confidence in themselves and to feel intelligent in a “man’s world”. Her dedication to the horse industry over the years was instrumental in the promotion and wellness of many horse breeds. Shirley will be missed by so many in the horse world, and has left behind a legacy that is hard to match.

A private memorial service will be held by the family.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to HorsesForever.org