Amy Ladd Hoffman, 101, of Salina, Kansas, died August 22, 2025. She was born on October 15, 1923, in Pomeroy, Iowa. Her family subsequently lived in Sioux City, Iowa, and then Lincoln, Nebraska.
Upon graduating from the University of Nebraska, she volunteered for the U.S. Signal Corps in Washington, D.C., where she decoded intercepted Japanese communications during WWII.
After the war she returned to Lincoln to teach elementary school.
She married C.N. (Nick) Hoffman, Jr., on June 12, 1948, in Lincoln, where they lived for two years before moving with their son Chris to Salina, Kansas. Nick was born and raised in Salina, graduated from the University of Kansas, served on a destroyer in the Pacific during the war, got a job as a chemical engineer in Lincoln, and eventually joined the family business in Salina.
Amy began teaching ninth-grade English at Salina Roosevelt-Lincoln Junior High School in the fall of 1968, the same year her youngest son entered the seventh grade at the same school. Two years later, Salina South High School opened, and the 9th-grade students were moved to the two high school buildings. She was transferred to Salina Central High School, where she continued to teach ninth-grade English and serve as faculty sponsor for many student clubs. After retiring from public education, she taught for several years at St. John’s Military Academy in Salina.
“I met this darling little girl, and I thought I’d like to see if I could help her.”
Amy met first-grader Leslie Duenas when she volunteered through Big Brothers, Big Sisters as a mentor at Schilling Elementary School. They baked cookies in Amy’s apartment, shared lunches and tea parties, visited museums and the zoo, and attended music and theater performances. Their relationship grew into a cherished friendship of 20 years.
Amy enjoyed travel and had many happy times with her sisters and others in England, continental Europe, and Japan. After she and her sister Mary retired from teaching high-school English, they spent lovely summers in a cabin in the Rockies. They invited family and friends to join them at the cabin and took pleasure in sharing with their guests the beauty of the mountains.
A few years after her husband’s death, Amy moved to the Salina Presbyterian Manor, where she was known and loved for her genuine interest in visitors, residents, and staff. For Amy, every party offered the opportunity to know people better, and her “Pour-at-Four” pre-dinner wine gatherings with friends in her apartment were a well-known staple at the Manor.
Amy served on the boards of several local charities. She was a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority and the Salina Chapter BW of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. It was her wish that her obituary emphasize the deep gratitude she felt towards her P.E.O. sisters for including her in their activities even after mobility became an issue and she required help to attend meetings.
Amy was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Nick; her eldest son, Chris; all three of her sisters; her brothers-in-law; a nephew; and many of her lifelong friends.
Memorial contributions in Amy’s name may be made to either:
• Salina Presbyterian Manor’s “Preserving Legacies, Enriching Lives Campaign” in support of the Manor’s upcoming renovation and expansion project. Amy was on the steering committee for the Manor’s fundraising campaign and had hoped to see these improvements come to fruition.
• Salina Symphony. Amy was proud that Salina has a fine symphony orchestra and loved attending performances.
All memorial contributions should be sent in care of the family, to Ryan Mortuary, 137 N. 8th Street, Salina, KS 67401.