Martin Hoffman

Martin John Hoffman was born on December 4, 1963, to LaVern and Kathleen Hoffman in Carroll, Iowa.

Martin (Marty) set out in search of adventure at the age of 19 in 1982. For this, he chose to join the U.S. Navy. He was stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, and Naval Station Dam Neck, both in Virginia, as well as Naval Air Station Denver in Colorado. He was also stationed aboard the USS Simon Lake (AS-33), and the USS Bainbridge (CGN-25).

He met and married the love of his life, his wife, Marilyn, while stationed in Norfolk. They were together for over 40 years, and married for 39 years, just short of 40 years.

Together, they had three children, Nathaniel Pershing, Marten Joshua, and Hannah Elisabeth. As a couple and family, they have lived in Norfolk, Virginia; Aurora, Colorado; Dunoon, Scotland; Virginia Beach, Virginia; West Des Moines, Iowa; Fredericksburg, Virginia; and then they recently moved back to West Des Moines, Iowa.

Marty’s travels with the U.S. Navy have taken him to Greece, Norway, France, Scotland, the Arctic Circle, where he proudly received his “Blue Nose” designation, various seas and oceans, and more than once through the Bermuda Triangle.

Marty was the kind of man who sought to solve your problems. If there was an answer, he was determined to find it. Marty loved to work, and until the sickness took over his body, he rarely sat still for long. But work wasn’t his only passion.

Marty loved to have fun. He loved to travel, most especially as a road trip due to his love of driving. He loved the shooting sports. He also had a love for traditional country music, and old pickup trucks, especially the Fords.

Marty loved the mountains of Virginia as much as he loved the mountains of Colorado, though they are very different. He loved the fields of Iowa. One of his favorite expressions, that he often said in the early years of his marriage to Marilyn was, “Knee high by the Fourth of July!” This was in reference to the corn that grows in Iowa. Marty also loved the ocean, the family visited Virginia Beach semi-regularly.

But Marty’s favorite loves were his wife, Marilyn, and his children, Nathan and Hannah. He didn’t always speak their specific love languages, but he loved them intensely in his own way. His love for them was deep and wide, whether they were able to see it or not. His family was his world.

Marty was not a spiritually expressive man, but his trust in his heavenly Father was unshakable, all the way to the end. He never once expressed doubt about his Father’s ability or desire to heal him completely of his liver cancer, which began to metastasize shortly after his transplant.

It was witnessed that as Marty gasped his last breath, he raised his arms slightly, as if Jesus was reaching down from Heaven to take him to glory.

Marty was preceded in death by his son Marten Joshua, a blossom opened only for eternity in 1991. He was also preceded by his father, LaVern Hoffman; his brother-in-law, Mike Morse, Sr.; his father-in-law, Pershing Steppe; his mother-in-law, Mary (née Johnson) Steppe; and his brother-in-law, John Steppe; and many aunts and uncles.

Marty is survived by his wife, Marilyn (née Steppe) Hoffman, his son Nathaniel (Jessica née Paxson) Hoffman, and his daughter Hannah Hoffman. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Samuel Joseph Hoffman; Zachariah Pershing Hoffman; Skylar Michelle Hoffman; Alyssa Joy Hoffman; and Christina Marie Hoffman; his mother, Kathleen (née Loew) Hoffman; his siblings, Jeanne (née Hoffman) Wilson; Randy (Val née Sliefert) Hoffman; Mark (Betty née Kayser) Hoffman; Mary (John) Johnson; Ken (Linda née Overton) Hoffman; and Chuck (Linda née Danielson) Hoffman; and his brother-in-law Wayne Steppe, as well as many cousins, aunts, and uncles.

Visitation will be held at Westwood Baptist Church (895 S 60th St, West Des Moines, IA 50266) on June 20, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Funeral services will follow at 11:00 a.m. 

A separate funeral service will be held in Fredericksburg, VA, at a later date. Check back for updated information.