Nancy Sattazahn Hoff
b. November 26, 1924
On Monday, August 26, 2024, Nancy (“Nan”) Sattazahn Hoff, loving widow, caring mother, and
respected retired teacher departed this life at the age of ninety-nine. Born to Margaret and Lloyd
Sattazahn on November 26, 1924, Nancy lived her entire life in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
A graduate of Lebanon High School, Nancy attended Lebanon Valley College during the war years,
graduating in 1946. Her biology professors wished for her to go on to medical school, but she chose to
marry a handsome Buckeye veteran recently returned from the south Pacific, Frederick Lewis Hoff,
and start a family. They were very happily married for fifty-one years. Nancy and Fred had two
children: a son, Frederick Lewis II, and a daughter Harriet Elizabeth.
Both Nancy and her elder sister, Elizabeth (“Libby”) were skilled musicians. Nan played both
keyboards and the violin and could play either “by ear”. In the days long before streaming, the
Sattazahn sisters filled their home with music, Libby on piano and Nan on violin.
Nancy grew up in the Sattazahn family church community, Salem E.U.B, which later became Salem
U.M. when the denominations merged. She was active in choir and Chancel Guild. In later years, she
and Fred, who had come from a Presbyterian background, changed to attending St. Andrews
Presbyterian.
Nancy was a long-time member of the Lebanon Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
and the Women's Club of Lebanon. Organizations of which Nancy was a member quickly realized that
it was to their advantage to appoint (and retain) Nancy as program chairman. Her wide range of both
interests and contacts assured that the programs that she arranged would be not only entertaining but
also interesting and informative.
After her children had left the nest, and partly at the suggestion of her brother-in-law James Davis, Nan
became involved in elementary school teaching. Initially working as a substitute, she became certified
and moved into full-time teaching. She spent many years teaching fifth grade at Fredericksburg
Elementary in the Northern Lebanon School District. Her teaching methods were both effective and
unusual, regularly involving “special projects” that engaged her students. She took the work seriously,
frequently working into the wee hours on lesson plans. One icy winter morning she flipped her
Volkswagen on the way to school. When the first responders extracted her from her suspended
position, her one wish was to get to class. In Lebanon County it is not difficult to find those who still
remember their year in “Mrs. Hoff's class” with fondness and warmth. When she retired after twenty
years, Fredericksburg Elementary retired her “Classroom 25” number.
Nancy was preceded in death by her husband, Frederick Lewis Hoff, her sister, Elizabeth Sattazahn
Davis, and her parents, Margaret (“Margie”) Shroff and Lloyd Abling Sattazahn.
She is survived by her daughter, Harriet Hoff Bramble of Lincoln University, PA, her son Frederick
Lewis Hoff II of New Braunfels, TX, and her grandson, Mark William Abbott of Atglen, PA.
Family and friends are respectfully invited to attend Nancy's memorial service on Tuesday, November 26, 2024 at 11 AM from St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 600 S. 12th Street, Lebanon, PA where family and friends will be received following the service. Interment will be made in Mt. Lebanon Cemetery.
respected retired teacher departed this life at the age of ninety-nine. Born to Margaret and Lloyd
Sattazahn on November 26, 1924, Nancy lived her entire life in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
A graduate of Lebanon High School, Nancy attended Lebanon Valley College during the war years,
graduating in 1946. Her biology professors wished for her to go on to medical school, but she chose to
marry a handsome Buckeye veteran recently returned from the south Pacific, Frederick Lewis Hoff,
and start a family. They were very happily married for fifty-one years. Nancy and Fred had two
children: a son, Frederick Lewis II, and a daughter Harriet Elizabeth.
Both Nancy and her elder sister, Elizabeth (“Libby”) were skilled musicians. Nan played both
keyboards and the violin and could play either “by ear”. In the days long before streaming, the
Sattazahn sisters filled their home with music, Libby on piano and Nan on violin.
Nancy grew up in the Sattazahn family church community, Salem E.U.B, which later became Salem
U.M. when the denominations merged. She was active in choir and Chancel Guild. In later years, she
and Fred, who had come from a Presbyterian background, changed to attending St. Andrews
Presbyterian.
Nancy was a long-time member of the Lebanon Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
and the Women's Club of Lebanon. Organizations of which Nancy was a member quickly realized that
it was to their advantage to appoint (and retain) Nancy as program chairman. Her wide range of both
interests and contacts assured that the programs that she arranged would be not only entertaining but
also interesting and informative.
After her children had left the nest, and partly at the suggestion of her brother-in-law James Davis, Nan
became involved in elementary school teaching. Initially working as a substitute, she became certified
and moved into full-time teaching. She spent many years teaching fifth grade at Fredericksburg
Elementary in the Northern Lebanon School District. Her teaching methods were both effective and
unusual, regularly involving “special projects” that engaged her students. She took the work seriously,
frequently working into the wee hours on lesson plans. One icy winter morning she flipped her
Volkswagen on the way to school. When the first responders extracted her from her suspended
position, her one wish was to get to class. In Lebanon County it is not difficult to find those who still
remember their year in “Mrs. Hoff's class” with fondness and warmth. When she retired after twenty
years, Fredericksburg Elementary retired her “Classroom 25” number.
Nancy was preceded in death by her husband, Frederick Lewis Hoff, her sister, Elizabeth Sattazahn
Davis, and her parents, Margaret (“Margie”) Shroff and Lloyd Abling Sattazahn.
She is survived by her daughter, Harriet Hoff Bramble of Lincoln University, PA, her son Frederick
Lewis Hoff II of New Braunfels, TX, and her grandson, Mark William Abbott of Atglen, PA.
Family and friends are respectfully invited to attend Nancy's memorial service on Tuesday, November 26, 2024 at 11 AM from St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 600 S. 12th Street, Lebanon, PA where family and friends will be received following the service. Interment will be made in Mt. Lebanon Cemetery.
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