Myrtle E. Hofacker

1916 - 2007

Myrtle E. Hofacker, 90, died peacefully at her home in Billings on August 29, 2007.

Myrtle was born on September 16, 1916 in Wadsworth, Ohio, to Earl and Gertrude (Stackhouse) Clinesmith. One of her earliest memories was riding the horse drawn "Kid wagon" to school in Chatham, Ohio. She graduated from Chatham High School in 1934 with a class of 18, all but two of whom attended their 50^th class reunion.

After high school she left home for the adventures of nurses training. She earned her RN at Elyria, Memorial Hospital in 1938, and completed post-graduate work in obstetrics at the Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1940.

After the outbreak of World War II, Myrtle heeded the call and enlisted in the Army Nurses Corp. Her first posting was in Iceland, where out of thousands of soldiers, she met the love of her life, Signal Corp officer, Roger A. Hofacker. A year later, on New Years Eve 1943, she and Roger were engaged in London while on leave from their assignments in England. She served as a surgical nurse in a hospital in England prior to the D-Day and later at hospitals in and near Paris. She rarely spoke of her experiences treating combat casualties but she later expressed her feelings that war always involves a lot of boys getting hurt.

Myrtle said that when she shipped out, she had no idea that she wouldn’t see her family for three years. In the aftermath of VE day, on one day’s notice, she married Roger in Paris on June 15, 1945. After working half of her shift and making all the necessary arrangements with the military, Myrtle was married twice in one day, once by the Army chaplain and again by the French Authorities. She and Roger enjoyed a week-long honeymoon in Paris with the US Army footing the bill.

After the war, they settled in Montana, where they lived in Helena, Lewistown, Livingston, Butte, and Colstrip over the course of Roger’s career with the Montana Power Company.

Myrtle was active in the Presbyterian Church, living an example of Christian service. She also shared her talents with the P.E.O. sisterhood. She took an active role in her children’s activities and was an all around great Mom. She was a very loyal friend, maintaining life-long friendships with grade school and high school class-mates, Army colleagues, bridge-playing and camping friends.

Roger retired in 1980, and he and Myrtle moved to Whitefish where they enjoyed hosting friends and family at their home on Whitefish Lake. They also spent much of their time traveling. Their adventures took them from Africa to Antarctica and from Hudson Bay to the Great Wall of China. When they were in their mid-80s, Myrtle and Roger returned to Iceland for the first time since the war and Myrtle set the record as the oldest woman to operate a snowmobile on the glacier.

In 2003, they moved to Billings. Shortly after the move, Roger became ill. He passed away that October. Myrtle spent her remaining years living independently in Billings near her son Michael. Visits from her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren brought her many happy hours.

Myrtle is survived by her children Michael (Margaret), Susan (John) Leland, and Richard (Amy) and her grandchildren Theresa (John) Kanji, David, Karen (Terry) Ray, Peter, Heather (Shane) Davis, Jennifer, Mark, and Rachel, as well as four great-grandchildren, Isabella, Garet, Darien, and Ethan.

A memorial service will be held for Myrtle 1:00pm, Saturday, September 15, 2007, at the First Presbyterian Church, 2420 13^th Street West, Billings. Interment with military honors will follow at the Sunset Memorial Gardens. Memorials may be made to the Presbyterian Church, P.E.O., or the charity of choice.