Irwin J. Hoffman
Irwin J. Hoffman, a champion tennis playaer, pioneering mathematics teacher and an outstanding tennis coach, passed away Oct. 14, 2020, in Denver. Rabbi Yaakov Chaitovsky officiated at the Oct. 19 service at Feldman Chapel. Interment followed at Mt. Nebo Cemetery. Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.
“Irwin taught a succession of young players, many of whom became Colorado champions, often on his home tennis court surrounded by his wife Jacquie’s flower beds and rose gardens,” the family said.
“A sought-after speaker at conferences throughout the US, he excited many teachers with the potential of computers to enhance mathematics learning.”
Mr. Hoffman was born Feb. 5, 1932, in Independence, Iowa, to Morris and Margaret Goldfarb Hoffman.
His love of tennis began early, when he found his mother’s old racket, and later won the Colorado State Tennis Championship in doubles and was a runner-up in singles.
After graduating East High in 1949, Mr. Hoffman received a tennis scholarship to DU, where he played on the championship team and joined the Air Force ROTC.
He graduated DU in 1953 with a degree in mathematics and physics.
The Air Force sent him to study meteorology at UCLA and then to Honolulu and Eniwetok Atoll at the start of the Korean War.
Mr. Hoffman returned to Denver in 1957 and became the tennis pro at Green Gables Country Club, a position he held for decades.
In 1960, he began teaching mathematics at the new George Washington High School where, with a neighbor’s help, he also informally taught Fortran computer programming language.
Its popularity led GW to create a credit course in computer math, possibly the first such course in the US.
Mr. Hoffman, who was inducted into the Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004 and the JCC Denver Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, was named Colorado Teacher of the Year, 1982-1983, for his leading role in the computer curriculum.
President Ronald Reagan presented him with the Presidential Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics at a White House Ceremony in 1983.
President Richard Nixon sent Mr. Hoffman a congratulatory letter for developing the carpool program.
Irwin Hoffman is survived by his wife Jacquie Godfrey Hoffman; children Sherri Hoffman and Douglas Hoffman; stepchildren Kim (Grady) Halamicek, Kelly (Guy) Halligan and Bradley (Allison) Bierenkoven; grandchildren Chelsea Parfitt, Snowden (Jonathan) Hoban, Gavin (Michael Quinlan) Halligan, Lindsey Halligan, Chase Bierenkoven, Sydney Bierenkoven, Hana Hoffman and Aya Hoffman; and great-grandchildren Oliver Parfitt and Annalise Parfitt.
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