Samuel Hoffart

Funeral services for Samuel Hoffart were held Friday, February 11, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. at the Gregory Memorial Auditorium in Gregory, SD, with Pastor Russ Grim officiating. Wes Hoffart gave the eulogy.

Marshall and Colleen Springer and Melvin and LeRay Smith were in charge of registration.

Flower attendants were Halee Hoffman, Annie Hamilton, Amy Jacobsen, and Katie Vedral.

Casket bearers were Bill Sinkular, Doug Steffen, Roger Steffen, Jim Spann, Mike “Spike” Sievers, and LeRoy Miller. Honorary casket bearers were Heath “Heater” Taylor, Steve McCance, Monte Krizan, Ron Randall, Sonny Plugge, Jim Vaughn, Rick “Kooch” Kucera, John Sand, Jim Schuman, Pat Taggart, Henry Schulte, The Toads, The Mini Mart Crew, Class of ‘76, and Sam’s many family and friends.

Burial was in the Hillview Cemetery in Dallas, SD. Kotrba-Smith Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Samuel Kenneth Hoffart was born March 2, 1958, at the Burke Community Hospital, and died on February 5, 2022, in Dallas at the age of 63 years. He attended Dallas Grade School through sixth grade and was confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Gregory, SD.

Sam excelled as a wrestler, placing in the state wrestling tournaments three years. He graduated from Gregory High School with the US Bicentennial class of 1976. He attended the Kenneth Hoffart farmer training program and began farming full time by 1976. He assumed full responsibility for the Hoffart farm in 1988 after Kenny passed.

Sam was the epitome of a South Dakota family farmer: smart, hardworking, honest, and genuine. He started farming full time right after high school and took short term jobs elsewhere in winter months for a few years, including cutting Christmas trees in Oregon and working at a packing plant near Omaha, NE. When his dad died at 62, Sam was only 30. He assumed full responsibility for the farm, which was already large, and expanded it so that in time, Ben, his youngest son, would be able to live out Sam’s passion of being a generational American family farmer. Sam nurtured the soil on his farm the way it should be. He and Ben raise Angus cattle. After finishing his first check of the day for new calves on the morning of Saturday, February 5th, he was driving his side-by-side in Dallas and was struck from the rear by an impaired driver and mercifully did not suffer.

Sam was active in the community. He was mayor of Dallas and a member of the volunteer fire department for a short time when he lived in the Dallas city limits in the 1980s. He was on the Country Pride board of directors for the Dallas area for several years and attended meetings in Winner. He was active in Dallas Cares making contributions often and was a Dallas Hillview Cemetery trustee until today. He played on the Dallas Toads softball team in his younger years. Sam loved listening to popular music in the 70s and 80s and having good times with friends. He was a proud supporter of Gregory Gorilla athletics, and loved attending all sorts of sporting events through the years. But at the top of the list of contributions to the community was Sam’s kindness and skill at being a friend to everyone he met; this will be deeply missed by so many. Sam, along with his ex-wife Cheryl, cooperated well to raise three children.

Sam leaves behind his children: Tyler of Minneapolis, MN, Bailey (Michael) Veskrna, and their children, Adelyn, Gunner, Everly, Emryn, and Abram of Dallas, SD, and Ben of Dallas, SD; siblings, Vic (Brenda), Dallas, SD/Concord, NC, Nancy (David) Arthur, Greensboro, NC, and Wes of West Des Moines, IA; four nieces; two nephews; five grand-nieces; aunts and uncles Ruth (Jerry) Griffith, Kenneth (Vivian) Rose, Ray Rose and Leona Boland; and a host of cousins.

He was preceded in death by parents Kenny and Eunice Hoffart and brother Steve.