Residents ’ Review
October 2020
Volume 33 , Issue 10
Citizens Memorial Healthcare Facility is an affiliate of CMH , Bolivar , Mo ., 417-326-6000 Facility Location : 1218 W . Locust St ., Bolivar , MO 65613 , 417-326-7648
Dorothy Hoffer R e s i d e n t o f t h e M o n t h
Dorothy “ Lucille ” Hoffer was born Oct . 24 , 1931 , to Wes and Pearl Sconce near Eminence , Missouri . Lucille ’ s father was a mail carrier and passed away at age 53 when Lucille was 8 years old . Her mother , who was deaf , took care of the kids , the garden and also raised chickens and cattle . Lucille was the youngest of seven siblings . When Lucille was 3 weeks old , she had whooping cough . Her two oldest brothers took turns staying home from school to help take care of her because their mother was unable to hear her when she cried .
Lucille attended school in Eminence and graduated high school in 1949 . She also attended Missouri Baptist College and Southwest Missouri State University majoring in education . She met the love of her life , Wayne Hoffer , who was twelve years her senior at the Baptist church she attended . She said Wayne was a Methodist at the time , but his church did not have a service on Sunday evenings so he decided to go to the Baptist church . She said it was love at first sight and soon after they began dating , he became a Baptist . The couple dated for just under eight months before they married on April 5 , 1953 .
Lucille began her teaching career spending several years in Eminence , Oak Grove , Birch Tree and Grassy Hollow . Wayne worked as a county extension agent in Eminence , but his dream was to raise chickens . In 1958 , the couple moved to a farm in Bolivar where they farmed for several years and raised over 15,000 chickens every 10 weeks . Wayne later worked as a teacher in Morrisville and Lucille became the administrative assistant in the Bolivar High School principal ’ s office for 27 years .
“ One of the highlights of my life was bringing home my son , Nathan Hoffer , from the Baptist Children ’ s Home in Bridgeton , Missouri , when he was three weeks old ,” said Lucille . At the time a person could be no older than 35 years old to adopt and Wayne was 32 when they married . Thankfully their age difference made everything work out to be able to adopt . The night they brought him home it was raining heavily . A friend of theirs who worked for the county extension office offered to drive them to Bridgeton in her Galaxy car because she was worried about their Volkswagen making it there safely . “ When we got close to home , just East of Halfway , the water got too high up on the car while attempting to cross a dry creek , so we had to stop and let it go down before we could continue home . When we finally got home , the power was off . I will never forget this memorable trip and the welcoming home of our wonderful son ,” said Lucille .
Another highlight of her life was marrying Wayne , who she described as the finest husband anyone could ever think about having . He was always patient even through his battle with cancer . The couple enjoyed going to church together , playing cards with other families and traveling 39 of the 50 states . They also loved to spend time with their grandson , Silas , and granddaughter , Bonnie and her husband John Shikles . Lucille and Wayne were married for 60 wonderful years until his death in 2013 .
Lucille became a part of our CMHCF family in November 2018 . When asked what her favorite part of living here was , she said she loves her friends here , especially her roommate . She also loves visiting and interacting with the activities ladies , and having the opportunity to do any activities that they have . Her favorites are bingo , balloon volleyball , bible study and church services . She said she would recommend this to anyone who needs a good place to stay for care .
Congratulations , Lucille on being chosen as CMHCF ’ s resident of the month .
Are you a caring individual who would like to assist in caring for the elderly ? Citizens Memorial Healthcare Facility has opportunities in its volunteer and nursing program . For more information call Jeff Miller , administrator , at 417-326-7648 .