Community remembers Col. Clayton Hoffman

Members of the Panhandle veterans community will gather Thursday to celebrate the life and legacy of Col. Clayton Hoffman, founder of the Volleys for Veterans Honor Guard, who died Monday.

The viewing will be from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday at the Texas Panhandle War Memorial, 4101 S. Georgia St. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church, 1208 S. Tyler St.

According to his obituary, Hoffman served in the United States Army for nearly 32 years, being awarded various medals and honors for his service, which ranged from being a chaplain to serving in the 217th evacuation hospital during Desert Storm.

In Amarillo, Hoffman established a pastoral counseling service and was co-founder of the Volleys for Veterans honor guard, rendering full military honors for funerals across the region. According to his obituary, Hoffman was inducted into the 28th annual Panhandle Veterans Hall of Honor in Pampa in 2018.

Verlene Dickson, director of the Veterans Resource Center, a division of Family Support Services of Amarillo, said she first met Hoffman in 2013 after her retirement from the Army. Hoffman was one of the first people she was introduced to at VFW Post 430 in Canyon.

Hoffman was a mentor and friend since she met him, Dickson said. He was a “guiding light” to Dickson as she works through her master’s degree in divinity.

Hoffman also provided his chaplain services to the Veterans Resource Center.

“We will take homeless veterans and when they pass away, we will do a memorial service for them,” Dickson said. “Col. Hoffman has been my go-to as a chaplain. He would do the eulogy for each one of these veterans if they didn’t have a family, if they didn’t have friends, if they didn’t have anybody.”

Whenever there was a need in the veterans community in the Panhandle, Hoffman was always there, Dickson said. He provided a voice to the community.

Through her relationship with Hoffman, Dickson based the motto of the Veterans Support Center off of something he told her.

“The motto here is ‘moving forward, no one left behind,’” she said. “For me, I think I got that from him simply because no one is left behind in his eyesight, regardless of their situation, regardless of their status, regardless of how low they got. For me, it’s just always provide hope.”

According to the obituary, in lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to VFW Post 430 in Canyon, the Panhandle War Memorial or the Volleys for Veterans Honor Guard.