Muriel Martens Hoffman, 93, a long-time resident of Anchor and Fairbury area, died at 2:30 a.m. on Monday, November 26 at Johnson Health Care, Windsor Park Manor in Carol Stream, IL.

Cremation has been accorded. A Memorial Visitation will be at the Duffy-Pils Memorial Home in Colfax from 5 to 7 pm on Thursday, November 29.

She was born November 22, 1914 in Anchor, Illinois, the eldest daughter of Mabel and John W. Martens. She married Howard D. Hoffman of Waynesville, Illinois, in 1938. Mr. Hoffman died in 1982. Since this time, Mrs. Hoffman has made her home in the west suburban Chicago area.

Muriel is survived by her sister Betty Gomien of Springfield, IL and her two children Lowell Hoffman, Chapel Hill, NC and Janet (Gary) Pugh, Fort Collins, CO. She celebrated her five grandchildren: Laura of Brussels, Belgium, Bruce of Athens, OH, Catherine Kaser of Hockessin, DE, David Pugh of Plainfield, IL, Kristin Pugh of Tacoma, WA and six greatgrandchildren. She was proceeded in death by one sister, LaMoyne Harms Tilden.

Mrs. Hoffman has been an active historian and passionate researcher of genealogy throughout her lifetime. She has published numerous family and local histories including the Sesquicentennial history of Illinois' Anchor, Cropsey and Lawndale Townships. Her work includes research on the Hoffman, Martens, Martensen, Saathoff and Gum families among many others. Her publication entitled Potosi: A Ghost Town and the Fairview Community (2002) was edited with Dennis J. Hieronymus. Muriel's knowledge of area families and history resulted in a stream of inquiries by persons doing family research. When asked by family and friends, "Do we have any famous relatives?" her response was, "We have come from a long line of people who achieved what they may have accomplished through hard work." The lesson for the asker is clear.

She received her two-year teaching certificate from Illinois State Normal University in 1934 and taught country school in the Anchor and Cropsey communities She is well remembered by her former students for her sharp wit, her diligence in ensuring that they learned their required lessons and her lifetime interest in their own personal journey and life accomplishments.

During her 60 years as a McLean County resident, she was a founding member of McLean County Genealogy Society and a long-time member of the former Anchor Evangelical United Brethren Church.

Memorials may be made to the McLean County Genealogical Society, Box 488, Normal, IL 61761. Tributes and condolences may be e-mailed to MurielRemembered@cs.com.