Several forum members had noticed his absence from the forum over the last week. He hadn't posted on Facebook for a little while either, which is quite unusual.
I contacted several of his friends on Facebook- his friends list was private, but I sent messages to people who had responded to his status updates in the previous month or so.
As a result of this, somebody contacted his sister
And laterMy name is xxx, I am the sister of Al Hoffman. You contacted my daughter, xxx, earlier regarding my brother. We have tried to call him but get no answer. We are in Florida so I have contacted the Lexington Police Department and they are sending an officer out to his home to check on him.
And again laterMy brother was found deceased in his home. His son was contacted at work and entered the house with the police. They think he died on Monday as that was the last time my nephew spoke with him. Thank you for alerting us. The brothers & sisters are quite spread out and often go a week or 2 without communicating. This is very sad for our family.
I will accept the kudos on behalf of the forum members who raised their concerns.It's a sad state of affairs when someone on the computer, who has never met you misses you first and reaches out to find out if everything is ok. Humanitarianism. It says something about our family not 'connecting' and this must be addressed. I promise you, Geoff, you have made a big difference in MY life tonight. I will not let a day go by without contacting the people I love and telling them I love them. Thanks for being my brother's friend and Thanks for opening our family's eye. You did a wonderful thing her tonight.
I had known Al on Woody's Lounge, initially, here, and on Facebook, and regarded him as a friend. I especially admired his love and devotion to his wife Billie, who he cared for with devotion through her time of dementia.
Perhaps we can post tributes here and pass them on to his family.
Edited to add:
Al's profile
The pictures show him with his beloved Billie, who died about three years ago. He was devoted to her, even in her declining years with dementia. He was always proud of his Akubra hat- he asked advice from several of us Aussies- Claude had to help, as Al knew more about Akubras than I did.