Duwayne Hoffman Obituary

Duwayne Hoffman, age 76, of Canby, MN passed away on Saturday, April 22, 2023 at the Methodist Hospital in Rochester, MN. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30am on Wednesday, April 26th at the St. Leo Catholic Church in St. Leo, MN. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7pm at the Houseman Funeral Home-Birk Chapel in Canby with a prayer service at 7pm and Rosary to follow. Visitation will resume one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will follow at the St. Leo Catholic Cemetery. Houseman Funeral Home-Birk Chapel of Canby, MN is entrusted with the arrangements. Duwayne James Hoffman, a man of few words with a big heart, was born on April 17th, 1947, to Marion (Bauler) and Virgil Hoffman in Canby, Minnesota. He grew up on the family farm near St. Leo, MN with his parents and eight siblings. He attended Canby High School where he was part of the wrestling team. The year 1965 was momentous for Duwayne as he graduated from Canby High school, became a father, and married the love of his life, Pauline Mary Polfliet on November 20th, 1965. Together, Duwayne and Pauline moved to Minneapolis where he went to electrical school. Within a couple years, the two moved back with their two children into the Canby area to help on the family farm where he worked in the fields and tended to cattle and pigs. Through the years, Duwayne spent his time building his family and his career as a hardworking general contractor and family man. Throughout his life he constructed countless houses, farm buildings, hotels, the local VFW, and even Hardee's restaurants. Late in 1991, Duwayne established Hoffman Builders with his son, Tim and later built the Northside Wash. Duwayne spent 44 years of his life as a volunteer firefighter and first responder in the St. Leo Fire Department. Duwayne was dedicated to his faith. Over the years he gave much of his time to the St. Leo Church, as a member, and through providing his services to repair the bell tower, roof, sidewalk, doors, and the school. In his spare time, Duwayne enjoyed camping, stock car racing, shooting pool, spending time with his family, and drinking Dr. Pepper and Sun Drop. After retiring in 2017, Duwayne started traveling and visiting family with Pauline and their dog, Chico, ending up in Queen Creek, Arizona, where they spent the majority of his remaining winters. In September 2020, Duwayne was diagnosed with Stage Four lymphoma cancer, and for the next two years, he fought to maintain his life with his family. At the end, after his long battle with cancer, Duwayne peacefully passed away surrounded by his wife and his loving family. Duwayne is survived by his loving wife, Pauline, his six children: Tammy (David) Lozenski, Timothy (Sherri) Hoffman, Tracey (Kurt) Beeck, Toinette (Jared) Brueggeman, Troy (Patricia) Hoffman, and Trisha Hoffman; and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren; his seven siblings and many nieces, nephews, cousins and other family members and friends. He was preceded in death by his mother Marion, his father Virgil, his sister Mary, his mother-in-law Ann Polfliet, father-in-law Cyril Polfliet, his brother-in-law Joseph Polfliet and his sister-in-law, Kathy Gawerecki among others.