In Your Eyes

Weeks ago, my boss mentioned a training exercise she did in a leadership course where the speaker asked her students to write their own obituary. “Death is a part of life”, she said. “How do you want to be remembered?” She went on to explain that this wasn’t a morbid task. If you yourself couldn’t think of anything to write that was meaningful and good, how could you then expect to see it in others? How could you expect them to see it in you? That, combined with the untimely death of yet another classmate, led me to think about what my legacy would be. Have I done enough for others in the sense of service? Have I performed enough random acts of kindness? Have I been a shoulder to cry on? Did I answer my phone after midnight for a soul in need? Did I cook you dinner when you had a baby? (For your sake, hope I got you a gift card.) Did I offer my sincere condolences when you lost a loved one? What have I done in my life that will leave a legacy for my children? What kind of a person am I in their eyes? In yours? What would you add? How would you write your own?

Elizabeth “Liz” Katherine (Weisheit) Hoffman died peacefully in her sleep, alongside her beloved, at the ripe old age of 90. All those years of saying, “You kids are making us tired.” finally caught up with them and they are taking full advantage. Found together, arms entwined, they were at complete and utter peace.

Liz was a breach baby, born during a blizzard on February 10, 1982 in Enid, Oklahoma to David & Shelley Weisheit. She was a 2000 graduate from Quincy Senior High School in Quincy, Illinois and attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, where she pursued a degree in whatever her employer would help fund at the time. While working for The Cat Clinic of Stillwater as an office manager, she majored in Journalism/Broadcasting and Public Relations. As an Emergency Dispatcher for the Stillwater Police Department, she majored in Public Service. Despite these lofty educational endeavors, Liz’s heart was in Illinois. She moved back north and fell in love with her longtime friend, Travis Gene Hoffman. Liz knew her heart had found its true home and its only match, so she planted her roots firmly in the soil of the Mississippi River town of Quincy, Illinois. There, she and Travis built a life anyone would envy. They played harder than they worked and enjoyed the silence as much as the chaos. Liz worked full time in a variety of rolls and went back to school in her mid-30’s to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Healthcare Administration from Purdue Global University. From there she became the Administrative Assistant for Crossriver Quality Health Partners. She ran a successful photography business for many years wherein she helped others capture true and lasting memories. Travis and Liz had two beautiful children, Sullivan Gene (2013) and Sawyer Katherine (2015), whom she loved more than life itself. She was a Momma Bear who cherished her cubs with a ferocity unrivaled. Her greatest passion in life was watching them grow and find their own passions. Witnessing their marriages to truly worthy partners and the birth of her beloved and spoiled rotten (Liz’s fault) grandchildren, brought her more joy than her heart could hold. One of her darling grandchildren interviewed her recently for a school project. When asked what her biggest regret was, Liz responded, “In the words of my own Grandmother, Ruby Katherine, my only regret in life was not marrying him sooner.” In her own words, Liz simply enjoyed life. She loved a pizza and cold beer on a Friday night, snuggled with her husband watching a movie. Her favorite smell was rain and favorite sound was her children’s laughter. She adored pretty pictures and had a sentimental heart. She loved chick flicks, the lyrics of Frank Sinatra, and the penned words of J.K. Rowling. She loved to read and writing had brought her pleasure in the form a creative outlet. She prided herself on keeping a journal for each of her children since the day they were born. She enjoyed cooking shows, but was a terrible cook. Some of her favorite memories were small road trips and day long outings with her husband and children, searching for “adventure”. On all accounts, she was a self-proclaimed terrible house wife and had a knack for killing any plant left in her care. In her later years, you could always find Liz at the theatre, clapping feverishly (and being shushed), or whoop-whoop-whooping and shaking her pom-poms at the local sporting events in strong support of her grandchildren. Liz was truly blessed with a life filled with incredible friendships and relationships. She loved her friends like family and was pleased as punch to call her family her friends. “Life is too short not to love.”

Survivors include her children, Sullivan and Sawyer and their spouses; a plethora of grandchildren; one brother Michael (Meghan) Weisheit of Naperville, IL; a sister-in-law, Heather (Jeff) Wolfmeyer; one niece, Olivia Weisheit; and her best friends and partners in crime, Andrew Quintero, Caitlin Lee, Kristen Rosenkranz, and Sherene Inghram.

Liz was preceded in death by her father and step mother, David and Mary (Wilson) Weisheit and her mother, Shelley (Collier) Weisheit. (I mean really…they’d be like 120 years old…)

Liz was joined in death by her beloved husband, partner, best friend, and overall favorite companion, Travis Hoffman. They were in passing, just as they were in life; together.