Florence K. “Casey” Hoffman, 81, of Wilmette, who raised funds to help revitalize Chicago neighborhoods, died Friday, June 14, in Evanston Hospital of complications from a seizure disorder. Mrs. Hoffman was born and raised in Sutherland, Iowa, where her father was a physician and her mother a nurse. After graduating with a home economics degree from Iowa State College (now Iowa State University), Mrs. Hoffman worked on the East Coast before she got reacquainted with an old childhood neighbor, Edward Hoffman, whom she married in 1946. The couple moved to Winnetka after her husband, a structural engineer, got a job in the Chicago area. Mrs. Hoffman put her career on hold while raising their three children. In the mid-1960s, she started a fundraising and public relations company with a friend. In 1979, she went to work for Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, a not-for-profit organization that helps rebuild struggling neighborhoods. “She took our fundraising to another level,” said Bruce Gottschall, the group’s executive director. “She was committed to the work we were doing, plus she had a great personality.” Mrs. Hoffman retired from Neighborhood Housing Services when she was 76. She loved to travel and to take classes in medieval history. “She was bright, feisty and determined to make a difference in the world,” said her daughter, Mary. Survivors also include her husband; two sons, Philip and Thomas; a brother, John Kas; and six grandchildren. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday in Christ Church, 784 Sheridan Rd., Winnetka.
