Sylvia Hoffinger

Sylvia Hoffinger, age 86, formerly of Grand Rapids, passed away peacefully on August 13, 2021 at Sholom Home in St. Paul, MN. Sylvia was pre-deceased by her beloved husband Bill. She leaves her children, Alex Hoffinger (Janet Peluso) of Arlington, MA, Margaret Hoffinger (Jeffrey Heisler) of Palos Verdes Estates, CA, and Faye Feinstein (Edward) of Mendota Heights, MN, and her six grandchildren, Michael, Rachel, Benjamin, Jacob, Jonathan, and Lily.

Sylvia was born in Montreal, Quebec on January 26, 1935, the daughter of Meyer and Lily (Alpert) Saposnick. Sylvia was teaching elementary school in Montreal when she and Bill met, and after their wedding they lived in Bill’s native New York City. She and Bill moved to Connecticut, where they started their family. Bill’s career took them to Pennsylvania, Illinois, back to Connecticut, and then finally to Grand Rapids, their home for three decades and where they spent their retirement.  

Sylvia held several administrative positions over the years, but she found her life’s purpose as a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. As Bill’s devoted companion, they kept good company, sharing many wonderful meals and good books, going to the movies, theater, and Whitecaps games, rehearsing Bill’s parts for his community theater roles, and playing board games. They travelled happily together in their RV, heading south for warmer weather during winters, and taking cross-country road trips to visit family. She took great delight in her children’s accomplishments as she was a wonderful and caring mom. Nothing made her prouder than the grandchildren she adored, and she cherished the times when everyone gathered together in Grand Rapids for family reunions, especially during Thanksgiving. She was the family documentarian, compiling photos of these and other family events and milestones in dozens of photo albums. She will be deeply missed.

A graveside funeral will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, August 18th, in the Temple Emanuel section of Oakhill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Sylvia’s memory to the Parkinson’s Foundation (https://parkinson.org/ways-to-give).

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