Beloved Student, Livingston Native Passes Away At 24

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Family members of Gregory William Hoffer have a request, stated in his obituary over the weekend: "Just add #greghofferlove to your post on Instagram or Facebook, and make it visible to all – so that anyone who searches the tag can see the ripples of Greg’s influence as they continue to spread."

Hoffer, who was born in Livingston and raised in Maplewood, passed away in May at 24. The recent graduate of Columbia High School in Maplewood "succumbed to a nearly lifelong battle with mental illness on May 15, 2022, despite his being a light and inspiration to so many," according to his obituary.

Hoffer earned a B.S. in environmental science at Dickinson College in Pennslyvania, and received his Master of Sciences in marine biological resources through Ghent University in Belgium, says the obit.

"He had a unique compassion for living creatures," his obit says, "and his deep connection to nature led him to graduate-study in marine biology—Greg wrote a Master’s Thesis about carbon sequestration by Rockweed seaweed (ascophyllum nodosum), which he was set to defend in
July 2022. His family is immensely and forever proud of him and all that he accomplished."

"Greg fought his battle with mental illness with courage and strength; he lived as healthfully as possible, and constantly worked to find solutions," the obit says. "While his family continues to grapple with questions about the causes of his suffering, they move forward with renewed commitment to what Greg wanted: supporting research about, destigmatizing, raising awareness of, and building community around understanding depression, neurodiversity and suicidality."

There will be a service for Hoffer on Thursday, June 30 in Kennebunkport, Maine, and a gathering in Maplewood in fall, the obit says.

Memorial contributions can be made in Greg’s memory to: National Alliance on Mental Illness, PO Box 49104 Baltimore, MD 21297, or online at https://donate.nami.org/greghofferlove; to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), 199 Water Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10038, or online at https://supporting.afsp.org/campaign/GregHofferLove; or to the PANDAS Network, 655 Oak Grove Ave #1373, Menlo Park, CA 94026, or online at https://pandasnetwork.org/about/.

To read more about Hoffer, see the full obituary here.