Peter Hoffmann, editor and publisher of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Newsletter, a forward-thinking energy policy reporter extraordinaire, and my father-in-law, died April 18, 2014. He was 78.
Click for Peter’s complete bio
Peter, we will miss your humor, particularly your puns, your tender heart for animals, your curiosity, and your quick intellect.
I’m thinking your afterlife involves sipping a glass of white wine (otherwise known as “plonk”) and wildly driving an electric golf cart, chockablock with dogs and children, over roots and through mud bogs in a place similar to Bremen Long Island, Maine.
Island Life
Your death, on the heels of Gabriel García Márquez, seems somehow fated. Ten years ago, you said you felt like the “old general” from The General and His Labyrinth when we took your picture with your week-old grandson, you seated in the shadows of a dinner table illuminated by candles while your grandson glowed (and snoozed) in the foreground.
Say hello to the crowd at your new table, open a bottle of wine and give the dogs as many scraps from your plate as you want. We will miss you, Peter. All our love.
Peter’s obituary in the New York Times, April 27, 2014
So sorry, Jilanne. What a lovely tribute. Your father-in-law sounds like a wonderful man, with lots of good things to share with the world. My thoughts are with you.
Thank you, Kate.
What a great send off…and probably exactly what he’s doing! I read the bio..what a fascinating guy with an ear that I would have enjoyed bending, for sure. And, this picture with Gabriel will be a special one. I am so glad that they had a chance to connect…sending warm thoughts to you and your family.
Thank you! Yes, Peter always had something interesting to talk about. And he had a great sense of humor.
What a beautiful tribute. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Peter sounds like a fascinating fellow. I’m going to check out his full bio now.
Thanks, Mike. He was an interesting person and drove a mean golf cart. 😀
So sorry to hear of your loss, Jilanne. A lovely tribute. Thinking of you.
Thank you, FF.
Ah, Jilanne, I am so sorry;. You clearly shared many good times, and your sharing about Peter with such warmth is a real celebration of him
Yes, I think we will be toasting his memory and puns for years to come.
Sorry to hear about the loss of your FIL. Sounds like he was an accomplished man. Bet you were able to have some wonderful conversations.
Interesting conversations often tinged with hilarious groaners. Thanks, Carrie.
Lovely tribute, Jill
Thanks, Darya. I love that pic of Peter with the kids on the golf cart.
What a beautiful tribute to such an interesting man. His bio was a fascinating read. I love the photographs of him surrounded by kids and dogs (and a mustache Garcia Marquez would have been proud of).
Thanks, Letizia. That photo is a favorite of mine. Our son (of course), is the one aiming the water pistol at the camera. Somehow I ended up soaked, and Peter drove the escape vehicle.
Yes, the mustache speaks volumes, doesn’t it? 😀
What a lovely tribute, sorry for your loss. I smiled though at “Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Newsletter”. We have a TV show over here, don’t know if you’ve heard of it, called “Have I got news for you” it’s basically a satirical news quiz show, and the final part of each episode features a game where they give part of a headline and the panel have to guess the rest of the headline, anyway, they always have general newspaper headlines, and a guest publication that is some very obscure or specialist type of publication, like “Goldfish gills monthly” or something, and the “Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Newsletter” would be just the type of one they would have! I hope that doesn’t sound like an insult, the point is that it’s always about things that the majority of people wouldn’t know anything about, so it causes much hilarity in the headline guessing! (Trust me, it’s hilarious!). Hope I don’t seem insensitive with this!
Thanks for the note, Vanessa. On the contrary, Peter would have enjoyed the esoteric nature of the quiz show. He loved inserting puns and other forms of wordplay while writing about highly technical and sometimes controversial topics. So you are not being insensitive at all.
Jil, simply: Beautiful. Nothing short of that. My condolences to your family, and my applause for such a soaring, personal tribute. We should all be so lucky to have words written about us like this.
I can just imagine your father-in-law seated with Garcia Marquez, Peter Mathiessen and now Alistair MacLeod ( http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/books/alistair-macleod-author-of-no-great-mischief-dies-at-77.html?_r=0 ) Holy almighty, what extraordinary company!
Thanks, Nick. I hadn’t heard about MacLeod.
I love the part about his publisher/friend performing an extraction, using single malt whiskey to get the manuscript out of MacLeod’s hands. How perfect is that? Actually, I loved the entire story. What an interesting character.
Yes, I think they’ll keep each other entertained, to say the least. 😀
Ah, Jill, so sorry, but so beautiful. Everyone should get to have you as a daughter-in-law and get such an amazing tribute. To get kids, a dog, and a golf cart all in one photo says a lot.
You bring a wonderful perspective to saying good-bye to the ones we love. Thanks for that.
Thanks, Laurel. Did you notice that the dog is wearing a T-shirt? Giotto had an abscess removed while we were on the island and the t-shirt kept him from licking his sutures. If I remember correctly, the t-shirt had some hydrogen slogan on it. 😀
Oh, I’m sure he loved wearing the t-shirt, too! At least it wasn’t the dreaded cone. I have the cutest pink raincoat for my dog and she hates it, but she sort of likes her bomber jacket . . .
Now there’s a fashion forward dog!
Jilanne, you’ve honored Peter in such a charming way, here! His huge smile must account for the blinding sun we’ve had for the past couple of days. <3
Thanks, Susan! Peter’s vision for the future included solar panels, so I’m not surprised. 😀
There you go! 😀
Dear Jilanne,
I am absolutely shocked hearing this sad news.
I am sitting here in Germany nearby Berlin and I worked together with Peter writing about hydrogen and fuel cells – Peter in English, me in German.
Peter was so engaged when I spoke to him the last time and he was so eager to finish his next newsletter.
Now he is gone. And he is leaving a very huge gap in this world – especially in the hydrogen scene.
I will try to pay homage to him in writing a reportage about Peter in the HZwei-Blog and also in the German HZwei-magazine if this is okay for you.
Of course my thoughts are with you.
These are very sad days.
Sincerely yours Sven Geitmann
Thank you so much, Sven! Of course that is more than OK, it is wonderful! Please let me know when it’s published as I’m sure all of Peter’s family would like to read it.
We were all very shocked by Peter’s death. He seemed to be one of those energetic people who would always remain curious about the world and live forever. Thank you for your kind words. They are greatly appreciated! All the best, Jilanne
Dear Jilanne,
I am so sad and shocked to hear of Peter’s passing as I spoke with him just over a month ago. Having worked in the hydrogen & fuel cell sector for over 20 years, I can attest to the unique passion, insight and foresight Peter brought to our industry — he will be sorely missed. My sincerest condolences to you and your family.
Debby Harris
Thank you so much for your note, Debby. Yes, it was very unexpected, and many will miss him. We have many great memories.