Raymond Hoefer Obituary

Raymond Edward Hoefer was born October 9, 1929 and passed away at 95 years old on July 27, 2025 in his home surrounded by loved ones. Raymond grew up working on the family farm In Williams, Iowa alongside his parents Jacob and Mable (Maubach) Hoefer as well as his 9 siblings: Lyle, Kathryn (Smith), Donald, Dorothy (Faber), Evelyn (McMillan), Duane, Maxine (Williams), Daryl and Roger. Besides the fun he experienced with all his siblings, two of his fondest memories were working on his father's patented invention, the thrasher rake and sitting in the open loft door with the breeze blowing through the barn after Duane brought hay bales for Raymond to stack in the loft. His other chores included caring for the short horn milking cows, horses, hogs and chickens. Their fields were filled with oats, beans, corn and alfalfa-some spreading over 5 acres of peat ground. After high school, his first adventure took him to Minneapolis to attend the Practical Trade Refrigeration Institute where he also joined the National Guard with their headquarters distribution center providing supplies to all the units. Within a year Raymond transferred with the guard to the 34th Infantry in Webster City, Iowa and began working at the J & N Sales & Service International Harvester Dealership. Raymond then married his love Maryellen (Faber) 75 years ago and transferred with the 34th Red Bull Division to Des Moines, Iowa-serving 9 years in the National Guard-and worked full-time at Anderson Erickson Dairy as their shop mechanic. He then moved to Meredith Publishing as a packer just before joining the city of Des Moines Fire Department. For 31 years he served as a Private, then as an Engineer, passed the Captain's exam and retired as a Lieutenant with the Department. In his "spare time" he worked in home construction, maintained their 18 rental properties and ran a lawnmower blade sharpening business to further support his family. He always took the time to teach all his children a bit of the "handyman's"' trade. Our Dad and Papa is OUR hero. You may think it's because he could fix just about anything or because he was a First Responder putting his life on the line every time he left for the fire station, which is all true But as a father of 5 children: Cyrilla Gregory (Rick), Jerry Hoefer (Pam), Raye Haaland (Jim), Karen Ferin (David) and Joe Hoefer (Lynn), his family continued to grow to include 11 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren. He is OUR hero because he was our "Father Knows Best" Dad and Papa. His superpowers were his patience, kindness and the love he shared, unconditionally! The service will be held at St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church in Maggie Valley, NC on Saturday, August 2, 2025 at 11:00am with a gathering with the family after the service. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Asheville Area Alternative Funeral and Cremation Services. Flowers may be received at Asheville Area Alternative (702 Riverside Drive, Asheville, NC 28801) on Friday, August 1, 2025, between 10:00am and 4:00pm. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Raymond Edward Hoefer, please visit our floral store.