Community Corner
UMass Amherst Community Remembers Stoughton's Jake Hoffman
UMass Amherst student Jake Hoffman, 21, of Stoughton, died in a fire the morning of Jan. 21 at an off-campus apartment building in Amherst. Classmates remember Hoffman in a tribute article which ran in the Massachusetts Daily Collegian.
Like those who knew him in Stoughton, his classmates at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst remembered Stoughton's Jake Hoffman for his "contagious smile" and "charismatic personality."
“He had the biggest smile. As soon as he walked into the room, he made everyone a little bit happier,” friend and fellow UMass Amherst student Jay Palermo told the Massachusetts Daily Collegian.
The Daily Collegian, an independent student newspaper at UMass Amherst, ran a tribute article to Hoffman on Feb. 4.
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Hoffman, 21, of Stoughton, was identified as the UMass Amherst college student who died in an early morning fire in an off-campus apartment building in Amherst Jan. 21.
A 2009 graduate of Stoughton High School, Hoffman was in his senior year at the UMass Amherst, studying Hospitality and Tourism Management.
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Hundreds waited in line for hours at Hoffman's wake, held Jan. 25 at the Farley Funeral Home in Stoughton, and hundreds more attended the funeral service at St. James Church in Stoughton the morning of Jan. 26. Interment took place at Evergreen Cemetery in Stoughton.
He was the son of David and Anne, and younger brother of Nichole and Riordan.
“We weren’t just brother and sister, we were best friends in the whole entire world,” Nichole told the Daily Collegian. “I’ll never say I have one brother. I don’t, I have two. One is here presently and the other is (my guardian angel).”
Click on the link below to read the full article posted to the Daily Collegian's website:
Family, friends remember UMass student James ‘Jake’ Hoffman
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The following is from About Town columnist Mark Snyder:
"A Jake Hoffman Memorial Fundraiser," coordinated by UMass students Jamie Lee and Alyssa McCann and others, is scheduled for Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. at the Village Smokehouse, 98 Middle Street in Lowell.
Nearly 200 people have already responded that they will attend the fundraiser, whose proceeds will benefit those who lost everything in the Jan. 21 fire at the Rolling Green apartments in Amherst, which took the life of the Stoughton High Class of 2009 graduate.
The night will feature 50/50 drawing, multiple raffles, music and entertainment. Some of his Stoughton friends have already RSVP'd their attendance.
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