Even the Toughest Situations can be Overcome

Brittany Diemer
Staff Reporter

Prom is full of dancing, dinners, laughter, youthful exuberance, and for unforgettable memories that last a lifetime. For most young women, those memories are ones to be cherished, not for senior Marlee Hofer.
Marlee’s unforgettable moment went like this according to the Aurora Sentinel: “An Aurora woman died Saturday night after crashing her SUV near East Yale Avenue and South Elkhart Street, police said.”
Marlee’s night started out with the traditional prom moments, but it became quite different soon enough.
Most kids would love to hear their name announed at prom, but not in this particular situation, she was at the after prom being held at Amazing Jake’s when she heard her name being called on the intercom. She met her dad at the front of the place. “He told me, ‘We need to go, your mom was in a car accident,’” Marlee said.
Sophia Hofer, 44, was driving a GMC Yukon east on Yale when she hit a curb around 11 p.m. Saturday, police said. When Hofer tried to regain control, police said, she over-corrected and the SUV rolled once.
“At the time he hadn’t told me she had died,” said Marlee.
After that things were different for her. Her parents were previously separated and she lived with her mom, she had to get used to living with her dad again. One of the biggest differences about living with her dad was there were no more of her mom’s home cooked meals. “She was an amazing cook,” Marlee said.
It was weird for Marlee to be living without her mom. There was no more girl talk or shopping trips to the mall. Hofer finds it different having to plan her graduation party without her mom while she sees other moms planning her friends.
The sadness of the loss of her mother of course will never be fully gone. For her and her family it was helpful for them to have close friends and family with them during the first few days after Sophia Hofer’s death. “Talking about it was the best thing because I never want to forget the part she played in my life,” Marlee said. “You can’t just bottle everything up or it will eventually explode. I bring her up in daily conversations all the time.”

The Rangeview senior takes a very good approach to grieving and living without her mom. Even though Marlee is strong she still sometimes can seen tearing up about it if a conversation gets too deep on the subject.
Despite the absence of her mother Marlee’s senior year has been going great. She has kept herself busy with homework, youth group, her job at Dalton Elementary and hanging out with her great group of friends and boyfriend. Hofer is involved in DECA and is their Treasurer. She even was a part of the Executive Internship the first semester of this year. Marlee enjoys laughing with her friends and always seems to make any situation fun. Friend Patrick Carr said, “Marlee is the most pure hearted person I have ever met. Dane Hodges and I say she is our ticket into heaven just because we know her.”
She plans on going to South Dakota State University and majoring in pharmacy to be a clinical pharmacist.
It has almost been a year since her mom died on prom night, April 25th of last year, and she seems to be doing well considering the circumstances. “It’s not necessarily that it has gotten any easier, I have just created a new norm. I have my days and my nights that are harder than others, but I just can’t roll over and give up,” Marlee said.
Her mother was an amazing woman that was well liked by all of Hofer’s friends. Hofer and friend Samantha Jackson both said, “She taught us not to take anyone’s crap and stand up for what we believe in.”
Sophia Hofer was a great influence on her daughter and her friends. “She was strong. Even in the worst situations she always had faith and kept on going,” Marlee said. Her mother’s words spoke volumes as she remembered them and used them to help herself continue with her life.
For anyone who has or may unfortuntaly experience a loss of a parent or any loved one, Marlee’s story is a great example of how such a loss can be best dealt with. With her mother’s guidance and words of wisdom Marlee has been able to continue her life and keep her head up. As advice to anyone who has experienced a loss or may in the future Marlee said, “Don’t let it make you give up on life, have faith and keep going.”