Carol Ann Hoff

Southwick (formerly Maynard, MA) - Carol Ann Hoff, 79, passed away in the evening of Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at Baystate Hospital in Springfield, MA. Her family held her hands and played her favorite music for her as she passed from this life after a two-year struggle with decreasing mobility and a final acute illness.

Carol was born on December 22, 1945 at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA to parents Irene Hall and William H. Hall. Her family moved around quite a bit when Carol was a child, and we’re sure she managed to cause mischief at each of the 32 different elementary schools she attended in her young life. When Carol was in Junior High, her family settled in Lexington, MA, where Carol lived until her marriage to Robert Leslie Hoff on December 30, 1967. They moved to their first home in Acton, MA shortly after marrying. It is there that on April 7, 1969, they welcomed to the world their daughter, Kimberly Hoff (affectionately nicknamed Lil Pooh – surely a story to be told during the calling hours for anyone who asks!).

The small, close family moved around a bit and lived in Acton, Stow, and Maynard, MA, at last settling into their favorite house on Marlboro Street in Maynard for over 30 years. In 2023 Carol and Bob moved in with Kim and her spouse Jess for almost a year and then moved to Southwick Village in spring of 2024.

Throughout her life, Carol loved working with children. She worked as a Kindergarten classroom aid and teacher at St. Bridget’s School in Maynard, MA for 10 years, then became the Children’s Librarian at the Country School in Weston, MA, where she worked for over 30 years until her retirement in 2019. Carol found so much joy in the eyes and hearts of children. She filled every one of her students with a love of learning and of reading. She greeted every child with a smile and was always compassionate and a fierce advocate for children in need.

In addition to her dedication to her family and her work, Carol loved her friends, who were truly a part of her chosen family. One of Carols’ dearest friends, Deanna B., passed away over 20 years ago, and we hope that Carol is reunited with her now in spirit and is at this very moment sharing some wonderful memories and just maybe a glass of her favorite (chilled) pinot noir!

Carol was always a believer in equality, justice, and love. She welcomed Kim’s partner Jess Martin, now wife, into her family with open and loving arms, and delivered the most beautiful reading at both their commitment ceremony in 2002 and at their small wedding ceremony when their marriage was legalized in Massachusetts in 2004.

Carol and Bob celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary on December 30, 2024, and though the holidays and their anniversary were difficult with Carol being at a rehabilitation center rather than at home, we all celebrated the fact that we could just be together, and of course toasted with a decaf iced caramel latte from Dunkies!

Carol leaves behind her small but close-knit family: her loving husband Robert (Bob) Hoff of Southwick, MA (formerly of Maynard, MA); her daughter Kimberly (Kim) Hoff of Florence, MA; and Kim’s wife Jess Martin also of Florence, MA.

Carol’s talents were many - she was an artist and a writer who expressed her most beautiful thoughts through her words, her paintings, and her mosaics. Here, she shares her experience of sunrise, and what we know she wished for everyone she knew: “What a glorious day, all dressed up with the colors of an awakening hope.”

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Carol’s memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105; OR to MSPCA Angell, 350 South Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02130

The family will receive friends for calling hours at AHEARN FUNERAL HOME, 783 Bridge Road, Northampton, Massachusetts on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. with a funeral service following at the Funeral Home at 11:00 a.m. *