Gayle Hofer, age 70, of Huron, passed away Monday, November 24, 2025, at Avera McKennan Hospital at Sioux Falls.

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Her graveside service will be held at 1:00 PM, Tuesday, December 2 at the Ideal Cemetery, Huron.

Gayle Janelle Hofer was born at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Los Angeles on December 17, 1954, to LaVerne and Josephine Hofer. She was the first of their three children.

In 1955, after LaVerne graduated from Talbot Seminary, the young family moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where LaVerne pastored at Fontenelle Chapel and where Gayle's brother Richard was born in 1957. It was here that Gayle accepted Jesus as her Savior on the night before Easter in 1959.

In the summer of 1960, the family moved to Yale, South Dakota, where LaVerne pastored at Bethel Church. Gayle's youngest brother Ronald was born in Huron in 1961, and Gayle attended Milford School, a one-room schoolhouse with a combined classroom for grades 1-4. Richard began his schooling at Milford several years later and the two siblings shared a classroom.

In 1965, the family moved to the San Fernando Valley area outside of Los Angeles where LaVerne began pastoring at Community Bible Church in Arleta, California. There Gayle was baptized by her father and began using her talents and gifts to serve the Lord in the Mennonite Brethren Churches. In junior high, she began playing piano for the church. She attended Panorama Baptist School for 5th and 6th grades and later Los Angeles Baptist from 7th grade through part of her freshman year.

In January of 1970, Gayle returned with her family to South Dakota, where her father began pastoring at Bethesda Church in Huron, the same church Gayle was a member of until her death. She graduated from James Valley Christian High School and later earned an Associate Degree in Secretarial Science from Huron College. While at Bethesda, she learned to play the organ and faithfully served the church through the mid-1990s as both pianist and organist.

After graduating from college, Gayle began working at First National Bank of South Dakota, in Huron, steadily growing in responsibility and serving as secretary, loan teller, bookkeeper, accounting clerk, and backup teller. In the spring of 1994, she started working at Randall's grocery store (later called Coborn's) as a bookkeeper. For a time, she worked at both the bank and the grocery store. Alongside her formal employment, Gayle did bookkeeping work on the side for over 20 years.

While working at Coborn's, Gayle's friendship with her fellow employee, Bruce, turned into something more. Although they had known each other for most of their lives, they began pursuing a relationship and were married on August 10, 2002, at Bethesda Church in Huron.

In June of 2017, Gayle left her position at Coborn's and soon began serving as a part-time administrative assistant at Bethesda Church. During her years at Bethesda, she also served as Missions Treasurer and a member of the music committee.

Gayle loved to travel. As a child, she enjoyed trips with her family and grandparents in the station wagon to Florida, Canada, and the World's Fair in New York. The family also took annual trips to visit relatives in South Dakota or California, depending on where the family was living at the time. Later in life, some of her favorite trips included visits to the Oregon Coast, an Alaska Gaither Cruise she took with Bruce, and another Alaska Gaither Cruise she enjoyed with her friend, Laurie Hamm.

In 2020, Gayle was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, and chose to share her diagnosis only with close family and friends. She responded well to the chemotherapy and experimental drugs used to treat the disease and was able to continue serving as a part-time secretary at the church throughout most of her treatment, without anyone knowing she was facing a serious health issue.

However, in September 2022, due to her reduced immunity from the earlier treatments, Gayle suddenly developed viral meningitis. After being unconscious for several days and almost losing her life, she began a slow recovery. She spent an extended time in rehab, and was able to return home to Bruce in February 2023. Although she never fully recovered physically, her mind remained active and sharp.

After returning home from the hospital, her health and physical abilities slowly improved. In fact, when Bruce was recently hospitalized because of a knee infection, Gayle was able to stay home and care of herself for the few weeks he was gone and was thrilled with how well she was feeling.

In February 2025, Gayle was diagnosed with a bone marrow disorder and was told that within nine months it would likely progress to Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a fast-growing blood cancer that, given her health struggles, would not be treatable.

On November 5th, just two days after Bruce returned home from rehab, Gayle was notified that her disease had progressed to leukemia. Within three weeks, the Lord called her home. Gayle passed away at Avera McKennan Hospital on November 24, 2025, with Bruce, his son Matthew and Matthew's wife, Rachel, at her side.

She was predeceased by her mother and father, both of whom died in previous years during the month of November.  Gayle is survived by her husband, Bruce; her brother Richard; her brother Ronald, his wife, Karen, and their children Lucas, Lauren, and Ryan. She is also survived by Bruce's two children, Matthew and his wife Rachel, and Traela and her husband Neal, as well as Bruce's four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." – 1 Peter 1:6-7