Poem & Intro By Allen Diver  

Huffy was a very rare person…first of all, if he mentioned his first name around the county everyone knew who you were talking about…but more importantly, he listened and he cared about whoever he was with.

 On the other hand, he could be irreverent…he would say anything to anyone at any time…when announcing football games for Deerfield High School, he would remind people “to go to the concession stand where they have warm pop and cold hot dogs”, that there was “a handkerchief on the play”, and at the end of the game to “thank the meat wagon (ambulance) for being there” in case someone got hurt.

 I’ll be a little irreverent in his honor, as he would have it no other way.

 We both loved sports, but he was the one that played ball with me the most, even when he and Judy were dating….that’s pretty rare…frankly, Judy was probably thankful I kept him occupied, because if he was playing with m, he couldn’t be playing…. I think you know where I was going with that one.

 Someone said at the funeral home they should have taken pictures of him as a referee or umpire…but that’s not the kind of Pictures you take…but if you really think about it, I’ll bet he’s in more scrapbooks that any coach or player in the county.

 One of Huffy’s pet names in sports was “Lad”. He’d say things like:
                “Way to go, Lad”
                “Nice play, Lad”

When I was coaching, after a big game he’d come up and say, “I’m proud of you, Lad”….If he said it once, he said it a hundred times.

He made fun of himself for not being book smart, or handy as a fix-it man…but what make him special was his obvious caring for people.

An old saying I often use with teachers is that, “people don’t car how much you know until they know how much you car”. That was Huffy.  Everyone know he cared, so it didn’t matter what he thought he know , or didn’t know.

When Mom died just over two years ago, I wrote a poem. After the funeral, Huffy came to me and said, “That was super, and I’m proud of you, Lad”.

I decided that day to write a poem for him. There are a couple of words the audience will have to so I’m not too irreverent here in church, I’m sure you’ll see ‘em when they come along.

It’s titled…

 People Don’t Care How Much You Know 
Until They Know How Much You Care

(A tribute to Huffy)  

My, there’s a lot of people here
Who is this guy they’re here to see,
So blessed with family and friends
We simply knew him as Huffy.

When driving he was a daredevil
And really was quite dangerous,
If you listened the past three days
There are stories that amazed us.

Once his car took on a train
Rolling over several times,
Despite the fact no one got hurt
It probably cost him one of his lives.

Huffy loved his Michigan football
Was a long time maze and blue fan,
Now we’re all in those crazy colors
Just to pay tribute to this man.

And he loved his fast-pitch softball
Teammates became lifelong friends,
Some of you know him as an umpire
And saw him again and again.

You see, many can be an athlete
And many others have refereed,
But to be a friend of so many
Is rarely seen quality indeed.

Huffy often sold himself short
Didn’t think he was handy or smart,
But to those of us that know him
He wasn’t bad for an old ____. 

He was also a great storytelle
As countless jokes he mastered
If you told one he hadn’t heard
He’d call you, a dirty ________. 

He would help in so many ways
On him you could always depend,
He loved kids and all sports
And announced for the Minutemen. 

Despite his humble beginnings
For himself he made quite a name,
Even getting himself inducted
Into Deerfield’s Hall of Fame. 

 For Judy, he was a soul mate
Married for forty-five years,
There was no doubt he loved her
And often had to choke back tears.

He was awfully proud of his family
For them he had many pet names,
If you were Sis, Bubba, Butch or Peanut
You were in his personal Hall of Fame

And then came along 12 grandkids
And with them he had quite a ball,
He teased and picked on them equally
And they knew he loved them all.

He made everyone feel very special
To make you stand out in a crowd,
Had a knack of doing just the right thing
Like saying, “You make me feel proud”

He fought a great fight for years
Against that dreaded disease,
He’d be glad to see family and friends
Now forever may he rest in peace. 

Through life he made many friends
And just couldn’t treat anyone bad,
Because of the life you’ve led, Huff
“I’m so very proud of you, Lad!”

Pipi Written by Larry Dean Hoffman

We always knew Pip had a lot of friends.  We never knew exactly how many friends he had or how much they thought of him until he went to the hospital last month.  So, many people came to see him, the hospital had to give him a private room__ Partly because of the number of people, mostly because of the loud laughter.  Dad cracked jokes about every indignity associated with this days in the hospital, even when most people would have been cursing or crying.

As I watched all the visitors come and go, I wondered what magic my father had that made people like him so much. He lead a simple life. He married Judy and was devoted to her all his days. They had four kids and despite working pretty much every job he could find, he always found time to toss a ball around or play a card game with us. He was a walking joke ever told, but he always listened to other people tell the jokes he knew from years before, never finished the punch line for them and had a hearty laugh at the end, even if the timing was off.  His grandchildren learned to quickly run when Pip said “pull my finger”.

When he greeted people, he said “you’re looking good” even when we didn’t.  If you were up walking around you were looking good enough for Hoffie.  And, he loved sports, playing, coaching, watching, refereeing, umpping, or just keeping up the field, it didn’t matter what aspect of the sport he worked on, he just wanted to be involved.  And, so my first answer to the question, “what magic did my father have?” was that maybe it wasn’t magic at all. He met so many people by just being involved in sports that these friendly people must just be fellow sports fans / fanatics.  But I’ve known other people who were as involved in sports as pip and they didn’t seem to have as many true friends as my father. After more thought I finally reached the conclusion that it wasn’t sports that made friends for dad, it was dad’s use of sports to reach others, to serve others, that made him so special to all of us.

This is what I learned from my father, this is the secret of Hoffie’s magic.

1.        As an individual, be prepared for the game of life. Keep yourself as strong in your heart and body as you can. Work hard, play hard, and laugh often.

2.        Be loyal to your team – even when they are down. Help those around you feel strong, good accepted. Make others feel like they matter.

3.        Commit to the game. Shoe up dressed to play. Never forfeit. Have a game plan and stick with it until the last out.