AUSTIN, Texas -- Two of the people killed in Tuesday's crash are from Lockhart and well-known by many in the community.
Ken Hoffman, 82, and his wife, Peggy, 73, taught in Lockhart schools for decades. Ken retired 20 years ago, but he came back from 2002 to 2012 to administer GED exams. Peggy came out of retirement a couple times, and she was still working at the district when she died this week.
Their impact on education is being carried on by their children and grandchildren. Four of them work for the school district. The include daughter Melissa Messerly, who teaches at Carver Early Education Center, granddaughter Kelly Molitor, a counselor at ML Cisneros Freshman Campus, granddaughter Tara Chapman, who teaches at Plum Creek Elementary, and grandson Aubrey Voigt, who teaches and coaches at Lockhart Junior High School.
"We will miss his sweet, gentle soul and her steady level-headedness, which anchored us in the toughest storms," the Hoffman family said in a statement. "We cannot understand what it means to be in this world without them, but we know they would have us continue doing the very things they’ve always taught us to do: love God and love one another."
Coworkers say their work impacted generations of Lockhart families.
"It was very clear that they really committed to making things as good as possible for kids in Lockhart," Lockhart ISD Superintendent Susan Bohn said. "Then, of course, that perpetuates as the kids grow up in Lockhart to make this place a better place."
Assistant superintendent Larry Ramirez called on Mrs. Hoffman when he needed an assistant high school principal.
"She didn't just come in and plug a vacancy--a hole," he said. "She came in and she was all-in. She could dole out some discipline, and the kids would say, 'Thank you.'"
Visitation will be Monday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at McCurdy Funeral Home. Funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at First United Methodist Church in Lockhart.
Donations can be made in memory of Ken and Peggy Hoffman to the Education Foundation for Lockhart ISD.