Columbia Valley Pioneer - May 23, 2008

Hoffman legacy continues in Mexico, thanks to the Invermere Rotary Club

By Alex Cooper
Pioneer Staff

Gladys Bradshaw says she thinks of her daughter Bev Hoff man ten times a day.

“It’s never easy and it will never go away,” she said. “The only reason I keep strong is she wouldn’t want me to be unhappy for one second.”

Beverly and her husband Delbert Hoffman were travelling through Mexico in December 1999 when they were murdered at the side of the highway by two Americans.

The Hoff mans were semi-retired at the time. They worked in real estate in Invermere, but spent their winters in Mesa, Arizona. It was from there that they left for Mexico on that fateful trip.

As usual, they had spent months loading up their fifth-wheel recreation vehicle with clothing and other items, including two mountain bikes, to give away to Mexican children on their trip.

“They carried that in their hearts,” said Pat Brown-John, a close friend of the Hoffmans. “They loved to travel and experience, but they also wanted to contribute during their travels.”

The Hoffmans had just crossed the border and were on their way to Mexico City to meet their Invermere friends Barry and Pat Brown-John. After several hours they stopped at an isolated rest area where another vehicle was parked, one with American licence plates, occupied
by two young American couples.

The two American men, Paul Lean Parker and Donald W. Rainey, got out of their vehicle and shot the Hoffmans to death. The killers then made off with the Hoff mans’ vehicle and started to
rack up bills on their credit cards.

Word came to Mrs. Bradshaw of the strange credit card charges and she began to fear that something was wrong.

“From the start I didn’t want to believe anything bad had happened,” said Mrs Bradshaw. “Bev was always losing her purse. I had that thought in my head that everything was going to be OK.”

It wasn’t until a few days later that she was given the terrible news.

Since then, Mrs. Bradshaw, now 79 years old, has learned to live with her loss. “It was very sad times. She was my eldest daughter and we were very, very close,” she said. “She was more of a
friend than a daughter.”

Mother and daughter went on camping trips, played cards, and enjoyed meals together. A few years before Bev’s death, they had gone backpacking across Europe. Bev and Del were also
there to help Gladys through her triple bypass surgery, and the death of her husband Ron in 1998.

Other family members were also deeply affected by the tragedy, including Bev’s sister Linda and brother Aaron of Invermere; brothers Donnie and Robert, who work in other parts of B.C.;
and brother Mark of Abbotsford. Del also has a daughter Carey-Jo from a previous
marriage, who lives in Vancouver.

News of their tragic deaths shocked the entire valley. The Hoffmans were well-known citizens. Del was a former principal at Laird Elementary School, and Bev was an active real estate agent.

The Hoff mans were also loyal members of the Invermere Rotary Club. They helped build the Rotary Wall at the Windermere cemetery, and assisted with auctions, garage sales and other activities. Del helped organize the Rotary Club’s annual Loop the Lake event, and Bev ran in it three times.

But a lot of their work was done in private, without any recognition, said Bev’s mother. “She was a very just, kind person who helped in many ways that people weren’t aware of.”

To honour their legacy, the Rotary Club established a fund in their memory.

Through fundraising and grants from the regional Rotary group and Rotary International, the total amount raised was $12,000.

With the money, the club began a project called “Leer y Crecer,” Spanish for “Read and Grow.” The aim of the project was to help spread literacy to Mexican schoolchildren.

“When we started the fund we knew we wanted to make it related to education in Mexico,” said Dennis Hemus, fund coordinator.

“It was a three-year project that began as a simple idea of purchasing and donating books to underfunded public elementary schools in Puerto Vallarta area,” said Ken Fisher, president of the Rotary Club when the fund started.

The Rotary Club partnered with Rotarians in Puerto Vallarta and the American School in Puerto Vallarta, a private school for wealthy Mexicans. The project there was guided by Lisa Schalla,
a teacher and leader of the school’s National Honour Society, a small group of top students who wanted to perform charity work.

Mrs. Schalla was battling breast cancer when the project began. Her enthusiasm helped it grow in scope. The number of students from the American School taking part increased from only
a handful to more than 60, almost half the student population.

What began as a small project grew to include library programs, reading advocacy, and increased parental involvement. Throughout the Puerto Vallarta region, more than 20 schools
have received 2,000 books each through grants. In total, 6,700 children have been helped.

Ken Fisher was able to witness the impact first-hand. He visited one school, the Escuela Francisco Villa, where the storage shed had been converted into a library. The principal was passionate about the program.

“She’s inspired parents and her students into helping out the school,” said Mr. Fisher. “Through her eff orts and through the American School, they’ve transformed it into something that’s
quite lovely to see and a place that kids are quite excited to go to.”

The Invermere Rotary Club’s involvement in the project has now come to an end, with a final donation of $1,000 to pay for new books. However “Read and Grow” will continue. Mrs. Schalla has used her contacts at the University of Minnesota to get that institution involved, and the
project has gotten the attention of the local government in Mexico.

“In the memory of Del and Bev Hoffman, I truly believe that this is a lasting and far-reaching legacy,” Mr. Fisher said.

Gladys Bradshaw agreed. “The project is exactly what Bev and Del would have wanted. It’s wonderful for the people of Mexico and wonderful of the local Rotarians for taking on the responsibility,” she said. “I know it was a big undertaking by everyone. The only sad thing about it is they’re not here, but if they were, they would be very grateful, as I am.”

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