David Althouse Hoffman

David Althouse Hoffman, M.D., FACOG, 75, a retired physician and honorary member of the staff at the Reading Hospital and Medical Center died Tuesday, February 12, 2008, at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA. He was the husband of Dr. Kristen R. Angstadt for 17 years.

Born in Stouchsburg, PA, he was the son of the late David L. and Mary I. (Althouse) Hoffman. He was a 1950 graduate of Reading High School where he as a member of the Key Club serving as governor of the Pennsylvania District. In addition, he served as vice president of the Senior Class and National Honor Society. He was also a bass fiddle player and member of the Cross Country Track Team. He attended Princeton University as a pre-med major from 1950-1953. Following completion of his junior year, he entered medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, after having graduated in 1957. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he completed his internship (1957-1958) and residency in OB/GYN (1958-1961) at the Reading Hospital and Medical Center.

In 1961, he opened a solo OB/GYN practice in Wyomissing, PA. After delivering over 6,000 babies in the first 8 years of practice, the focus of his medical practice transitioned to the subspecialty areas of laser and laparoscopic surgery and reproductive medicine. In combination with this transition, he also formed and operated a laboratory and sperm bank, Pennsylvania Andrology and Fertility Center in Wyomissing, PA. He continued to operate the practice and the laboratory services until his retirement in November 2002.

Dr. Hoffman was a member of the American Medical Association and the Pennsylvania and Berks County Medical Societies. He was recently recognized by the Pennsylvania Medical Society for “50 years of medical service.”

In 1998 he also received the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics Excellence in Teaching Award “in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of obstetrics and gynecology.” While in practice, he was also a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. From 1996-2002 he served as an associate for Medical Books for China International and coordinated an east coast site for collecting and shipping medical publications and materials which were ultimately utilized to help establish medical libraries across China.

He was an individual who possessed a true love of learning and a zest for life, a desire to be a “maverick” at the forefront of his field. He accepted nothing short of perfection in his professional work and exuded to those around him a genuine and caring, albeit adventuresome spirit.

Dr. Hoffman was a scholar of local history, tall-case clocks, and mechanical music. He was an Alaskan hunter, a seasoned traveler, a voracious reader and an ardent follower of college basketball and the Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles. In 1994-1995, in conjunction with the Historical Society of Berks County, he served as an integral member of the committee that planned and organized the first local exhibition of Berks County Tall-Case Clocks, 1750-1850. He epitomized the words of Henry David Thoreau: “To him whose elastic and vigorous thought keeps pace with the sun, the day is perpetual morning.”

In addition to his Wife, he is also survived by five children; David F. Hoffman, M.D., Kemblesville, PA; Joda L. Coolidge, Great Falls, VA; Beth L. Onofri and Amy B.