A5
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021
OBITUARIES
Jim Fink
Peter Rushmore Hoff man
Vancouver, Washington
1948 — 2021
Warrenton
Dec. 4, 1940 — July 28, 2021
Jim Fink was born in 1948 in Cedar
For that waterborne parade through the
Falls, Iowa, and raised there until leaving canals of Belgium, Jim designed and super-
home to study at the University of Iowa.
vised the construction of the armature of a
After college, he moved to
45-foot long horse, carrying three
Astoria, where he resided as an
riders — a construction of steel
artist, designer and builder until
tubing, clothed in Dacron panels,
2001, when his home and studio
that folded itself into the much
burned to the ground in a devas-
smaller hold of the canal barge
tating fi re.
as it passed beneath the many
He then moved to Longview,
bridges it would encounter along
Washington, where his wife, Car-
its festive journey.
oline, was employed as a traf-
For a Seattle company that
fi c engineer. In 2008 the cou-
manufactured
weighing-scales
ple bought a home in Vancouver,
that were immune to the infl u-
Jim Fink
Washington, where Jim lived
ences of a tossing sea, he created
until his death. He died peacefully
two versions of what he called
in his home on Good Friday, April 2, 2021. Ocean Motion Simulators. For a patron
At the University of Iowa, Jim studied a in California, he created a kinetic garden
wide range of subjects, but especially math- sculpture whose shape would continually
ematics and art. During that time, he was change in response to the wind. Always, his
also a student at Brussels’ Academie Royale main interest was in movement.
des Beaux Arts, and assistant to Belgian
Living by the river for 30 years made
sculptor Olivier Strebelle (1927-2017). He him acutely aware of its rhythms: the rise
received his bachelor’s degree in fi ne arts, and fall of the tides, the ships turning at
with special honors and high distinction, in anchor, the cormorants’ perch atop old pil-
1970.
ings disappearing and reappearing. He con-
In December 1971, after wandering tinued to look for ways to express this dyna-
through Mexico and the Western U.S., Jim mism sculpturally.
arrived in Astoria, and immediately decided
His fi nal large project, the Luna Phaser,
that this was where he wanted to be. He does this exactly. Commissioned by Astoria
worked at fi rst as a laborer, a carpenter and Visual Arts as part of its Astoria Riverwalk
a commercial fi sherman.
project in 2009, and designed for instal-
An accomplished fi ddler, he soon made lation at the end of the 14 Street pier, this
many lasting friendships among Astoria’s piece of public art is about the tides in the
musical community. Over the years, his river and their relationship to their principal
musical talent would expand to include cause, the moon.
profi ciency on the cello, the reed organ and,
Each change in tide — from fl ood to ebb
fi nally, the concertina, which became a con- and from ebb to fl ood — would rotate an
stant companion during the last decades of artifi cial moon slightly so that the face it
his life.
presented would change in synchrony with
Several years after his arrival in Asto- the face of the real moon.
ria, he was able to buy an abandoned fi sh-
Jim used to joke that, with the Luna
erman’s bunkhouse on the banks of the Phaser installed, anybody standing along
Columbia River, on Alderbrook slough in 14th Street between Exchange Street and
Astoria’s east end, which he converted into Marine Drive could know the phase of the
a residence and studio. He lived, studied moon (should they want to), simply by
and worked there until the fi re in 2001.
looking toward the end of the pier.
“I had been away for a day or two,” he
Jim died before this project could be
later wrote, “and returned to fi nd only a pile completed. A working model of the Luna
of smoldering ashes. Except for the clothes Phaser is on exhibit at Astoria Visual Arts.
on my back, I lost nearly every material More detail on this project and the others
thing I had: the structure itself, my tools, mentioned in this obituary can be found at
hundreds of drawings, many sculptures and jimfi nk.weebly.com
maquettes, all my slides, all copies of my
In Alderbrook, Jim’s place along the
fi lms. In short, it seemed, nearly the sum of water’s edge, with its abundant wildlife,
my life.”
fed his endless fascination with the motion
Throughout his working life, Jim sup- of the tides and the rhythms of nature. Sur-
ported himself primarily by working in the rounded by a thick tangle of blackberry
construction trades, and making sculpture and bamboo, it also came to be a cherished
as time allowed. He occasionally exhib- retreat for many of his friends.
ited his work in two galleries in Astoria,
Among these was Caroline Bricheux,
and the Oregon College of Art and Craft in who had grown up in the Auvergne region
Portland.
of France, and moved to Astoria in the early
He taught himself structural analysis and 1980s. They met in the early 1990s, were
machinery design and, increasingly, worked married in 1998, and for the next 23 years
at the drawing table rather than in the fi eld. shared a life of mutual devotion.
Some of Jim’s most ambitious projects
This included frequent trips back to Car-
came from commissions outside Astoria. In oline’s home in the Auvergne, and regu-
1980, Olivier Strebelle asked Jim to collab- lar holidays in the winter months to remote
orate with him on a project for Belgium’s seaside villages in Central America and the
150th anniversary of nationhood.
Caribbean.
Peter Rushmore Hoff man was born not squish it.
He was a member of Oregon Equestrian
on Dec. 4, 1940. His parents were John
Frederick Hoff man Jr. and Jean Bell Trails, and spent many hours helping to
clear trails so horse riders would
Millett-Hoff man.
be safe. He also helped at the
He passed away at home, with
Friends of the Fair horse shows
his wife by his side, in Warren-
by manning the arena entrance
ton, on July 28, 2021, at the age
gate. He would encourage the
of 80.
younger riders on their way in
Pete was born in New
to “sit tall, relax and show ‘em
Rochelle, New York, and moved
whatcha got.”
to San Francisco in 1941. After
Pete enjoyed swimming at the
graduating from high school,
Astoria Aquatic Center to keep
he attended San Francisco State
himself fi t in the winter and rid-
University to study radio and TV
Peter Hoff man
ing to Hammond and back on his
broadcasting.
bicycle in the summer.
In 1963, he joined the U.S.
He worked at several local businesses
Coast Guard. During 1967, he married
Susan McBride (they later divorced), and during his “retirement.” His two favor-
began his formal Coast Guard career. He ites were: Wadsworth Electric, where he
trained to be a rescue helicopter pilot, and operated large equipment in sometimes
enjoyed the many beautiful places he was very dangerous environments; and, most
recently, Staples in Warrenton, where he
stationed.
Pete was stationed in Astoria from 1981 appreciated his co-workers and managers
to 1984, and then served as commander at for how kind and caring they were toward
Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, him in his “senior” days.
He is survived by his wife, Christine
D.C., from 1984 to 1987. He retired as a
commander (0-5), and returned to Astoria, Hoff man; daughters, Jessica (Jacob) Bush-
due to his love of the water, and his rela- nell and Rebecca (Stevin) Tadei; his former
tionship with his Grace Episcopal Church wife, Susan Hoff man, of Vancouver, Wash-
ington; sons, Malcolm (Ken) Hoff man,
family.
In 1998, he married Christine Duff , and of Washougal, Washington, and Michael
adopted her two young daughters as his (Jessica) Hoff man, of Portland; daughter,
own. Pete enjoyed the family time he spent Kathryn Strom, of Vancouver, Washington;
with them camping, horseback riding, sup- grandchildren, Natasha, Gabriel, Gwendo-
porting his daughters at volleyball games lyn, Drew and Summer; and a sister, Sha-
and dance recitals, high school and college ron Tucker Morse, of Pine Hurst, North
graduations and marriages. He was proud Carolina.
Pete was preceded in death by his
to support their 4-H horse club, Western
Wranglers, at parades by volunteering for mother and father.
A Requiem Mass, followed by out-
“scooping duty.”
Pete was very involved in the operations door fellowship, will be held on Aug. 16
of Grace Episcopal Church. He served at at 4 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church in
the altar, was a member of the choir, was Astoria.
Memorial contributions may be made
much respected as a vestry leader and was
the go-to guy for building maintenance to Grace Episcopal Church for the Keep-
ing Grace Project or to Lower Columbia
issues.
Pete loved God’s creations, and was Hospice.
Please sign the online guest book pro-
especially fond of the smallest creatures.
He was always summoned to take the spi- vided by Hughes-Ransom Mortuary at
der or the bee outside so the girls would hughesransom.com
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SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TODAY
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
REGIONAL FORECAST
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Seattle
70 57
Clouds and
sunshine
77 59
80 60
76 57
Partly sunny
Mostly cloudy
and warm
Areas of low
clouds
71 58
70 56
68 57
Areas of low
Rather cloudy Clouds and sun
clouds
Aberdeen
Olympia
76/58
82/63
Wenatchee
Tacoma
Moses
Lake
83/59
ALMANAC
UNDER THE SKY
TODAY'S TIDES
Astoria through Sunday
Tonight’s Sky: At the head of
Cygnus we fi nd the double star
Albireo, approximately 380 light
years away.
Astoria / Port Docks
Temperatures
High/low ................................ 68/53
Normal high/low .................. 69/55
Record high .................. 92 in 1939
Record low .................... 45 in 1988
Precipitation
Sunday ..................................... 0.01”
Month to date ........................ 0.33”
Normal month to date ......... 0.19”
Year to date .......................... 37.82”
Normal year to date ........... 38.19”
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
Sunrise today .................. 6:09 a.m.
Sunset tonight ............... 8:32 p.m.
Moonrise today .............. 8:19 a.m.
Moonset today ............ 10:05 p.m.
Full
Last
High (ft.) Time Low (ft.)
2:39 a.m.
3:53 p.m.
New
2:16 a.m.
3:29 p.m.
2:28 a.m.
3:42 p.m.
Warrenton
2:34 a.m.
3:48 p.m.
Knappa
3:16 a.m.
4:30 p.m.
Depoe Bay
Aug 15 Aug 22 Aug 29 Sep 6
8.0 9:36 a.m. -1.2
7.1 9:43 p.m. 1.5
Cape Disappointment
Hammond
SUN AND MOON
First
Time
1:26 a.m.
2:43 p.m.
8.1 8:44 a.m. -1.2
7.0 8:48 p.m. 1.8
8.4 9:03 a.m. -1.3
7.4 9:11 p.m. 1.6
8.4 9:20 a.m. -1.1
7.5 9:27 p.m. 1.6
8.3 10:37 a.m. -1.0
7.3 10:44 p.m. 1.3
8.4 8:12 a.m. -1.3
7.3 8:17 p.m. 2.0
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Honolulu
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
New York City
Phoenix
San Francisco
Wash., DC
Wed.
Hi/Lo/W
90/74/t
77/70/pc
92/76/t
98/79/s
94/63/s
89/76/pc
94/79/t
85/66/s
90/80/t
87/74/s
98/84/t
74/56/pc
93/77/pc
90/74/t
90/75/pc
90/75/t
98/79/s
97/64/pc
88/76/sh
93/77/t
86/67/s
90/79/t
90/75/t
101/85/t
73/59/pc
95/78/t
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy,
c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms,
r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice.
93/68
Hermiston
The Dalles 94/66
Enterprise
Pendleton 87/57
92/67
97/70
La Grande
91/58
94/65
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Hi/Lo/W
85/60
Kennewick Walla Walla
91/70 Lewiston
94/66
86/63
Salem
Pullman
94/66
Longview
70/57 Portland
91/65
86/67
Yakima 92/66
85/62
Astoria
Spokane
92/70
Corvallis
94/63
Albany
95/64
John Day
Eugene
Bend
95/63
92/60
94/60
Ontario
95/63
Caldwell
Burns
94/53
90/57
Medford
103/67
Klamath Falls
94/50
City
Baker City
Brookings
Ilwaco
Newberg
Newport
Today
Hi/Lo/W
90/51/s
68/54/pc
66/57/pc
93/64/s
64/52/pc
Wed.
Hi/Lo/W
95/56/s
64/55/pc
72/61/c
100/67/pc
66/52/pc
City
North Bend
Roseburg
Seaside
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Today
Hi/Lo/W
68/54/s
98/65/s
69/57/pc
96/62/s
91/65/s
Wed.
Hi/Lo/W
69/55/pc
105/66/s
80/61/pc
104/66/pc
98/68/pc