Untimely Loss – Vicki Hoffman

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Vicki had the unique gift of viewing everything through a lens of positivity.  There was not a person, organization or object in which she did not see “potential”.  Together we labored countless hours locating, rescuing and reviving materials which could be repurposed for our students’ art lessons.  We scoured school district surplus sales from Tacoma to Everett, dividing up our loot to take to the schools who needed them most.  She was the one bold enough to believe our kids could try fusing glass in the classrooms – which led to our roadtrips to Portland where we could purchase glass wholesale and stretch our budgets.  Vicki made these excursions fun and our successes were triumphant.  We spent hours in tiny kiln rooms firing student art projects after hours and on weekends so that each child would be able to create a keepsake for years to come.  Many a student (and prospective adult art docent) started a conversation saying “I’m not good at art” – Vicki would just laugh and disagree – and say “we’re just playing” – and lure them into a world of creativity.  That was her special gift – she lured you in and made you see your own “potential”.  It is a lesson we can all learn, take a chance, see where it leads and have fun along the way.  I will miss her dearly.  – Cyn Baumert

Vicki was a ray of sunshine in my life..11 years ago we began our journey together in the world of Art Docent. She was my mentor and inspiration! I could always share ideas with Vick and know that my lesson plans would come out fabulous! She was instrumental in helping me get the program started when Grand Ridge Elementary opened 7 years ago. Vicki is a legend in our community and will always live on through her dedication in making our world a more colorful place to be!! Love her and miss her…-Debi Courage

There are not enough words to describe Vicki and her heart for children, whether it was being an ISF Voice mentor, or hosting a party that raised funds for ISF, or whether she was involved in distributing every sign that went up for either the bond and levy campaigns, or for ISF’s All in for Kids campaigns.  She was involved at Tiger Mountain, Echo Glen, Issaquah Food Bank, Issaquah Middle School, Issaquah High School, Issaquah Community Network, just to name a few.  Vicki lived in half a lifetime what would take the rest of us to live in five life times.  There was no stone unturned when it came to helping kids.  Our community will definitely feel the loss of this amazing giving soul.  We love you Vicki! -Jody Mull

Vicki made it her business to not only expose as many people, young and old, to art, but to share the joy of creating art and art pieces.  She was perpetually positive, didn’t give in to fits of badmouthing and was professionally gracious and fun loving. -Lacey Leigh
 
Vicki was a gem in our community.   Vicki was my first art docent trainer and she was so inspirational and enthusiastic.  She wore many hats – but all of them showed that she was caring and passionate about the kids in our community.   Vicki is a shining example of using your passion to make the world a better place.  -Kim Foster
 
Personally, I was inspired by her commitment to teaching our kids art – whether it was clay or glass, she was always reaching out to share her passion with kids.  Such a huge loss for Issaquah… -Susan Griffin
 
My connection to Vicki was through the Art Docent program, but she is someone I ran into year after year and she was always an inspiration. I can’t believe I spent ten minutes catching up with her at Barnes & Noble’s only two weeks ago, and now she is gone. I don’t know her family, but I can only imagine how many people she has touched over the years. What a loss to the community!-Teresa Cowan
 
I am so glad to have known her when I started working with the school district. A lovely warm person ready to help a newbie like me. Praying for her family at this time….RIP Vicky. -Sharon Fong