Arlene Anne Hoffman

Arlene Anne Hoffman (85) passed peacefully on April 10th at Cherry Blossom Senior Living in Columbus, Ohio with her beloved daughter, Barbara Langel, at her side, after a week of being surrounded by her loving family — her son, John, her sons-in-law, Bill Langel and Tony Leondis, her cherished grandchildren Bethanne Barrows (Keith), Matt Langel (Valarie) and Kristine Rhodes (Todd), and her seven great-grandchildren. She was also visited and serenaded in that week by her brother, Frank Ziegler (Andrea) and happily FaceTimed with her devoted sister in Long Island, NY, Margie Lanze (Jay) and her niece, Patricia Hoffman Goodwin. Arlene spent 52 amazing years with her husband Bob before he passed in 2009. Born in Brooklyn, NY to Margaret “Mimi” and Frank “Pop-Pop” Ziegler, Arlene grew up as a “city girl” who played the cello and went on to work at 20th Century Fox Studios in NY, before meeting Bob, marrying and transferring to the “country” of Reynoldsburg, Ohio where they raised their family and were a part of the community for decades. They were joined in their transfer by lifelong “Brooklyn family”, Joe and Roberta Servick and their kids Joe (Kathy), Sallie Weisgerber (Jerry), John (Chris), and Roberta Marchi (Dan) and those kids all also surrounded Arlene in her life and last week to say goodbye. While in Ohio, Arlene worked alongside Dick Swope at the law firm of Thompson, Swope, Burns & Biswas before working with John Carnahan at Arter & Hadden, where she was named Columbus’ Legal Secretary of the Year. Anyone who knew Arlene, knows she was a gem. Beautiful and bright in spirit and always with a smile that lit up the room, Arlene made friends easily and kept them — whether in New York, where she met Pamela Horn Griffin in kindergarten and remained like a sister to her until Pam passed last year — or here in the Columbus area or later in Estero, Florida where Arlene and Bob moved and set up a retirement life of golfing and partying with friends, Gloria Cockings (and Sonny) and countless others, until Arlene returned to be with her family for her last five years. It’s never easy to sum up a whole life, but it’s also not easy to point to a moment when the people closest to Arlene didn’t love the hell out of her, unconditionally. Because she brought only love to every moment, truly. She will be so missed, but also celebrated in her family and friends’ hearts always. Her life will be celebrated on May 6th at 2:00 p.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Etna and, in lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to Capital City Hospice. In the meantime, we believe Arlene would want anyone who knew and loved her, or anyone who just appreciates the best kind of “happy hour,” like her good friends she made while at Cherry Blossom, to raise a glass to her memory as she smiles and remains at the party in the hearts of those so grateful to have called her Mom, Sis, Grandma, Gigi, Aunt, cousin or dear friend.