Johanna E. Horvath

Johanna “Ann” Horvath passed away peacefully on February 22, 2025, in Chisholm, MN. Born Johanna Engelina Baan Hofman, she was 89 when she passed.  Ann was born to Dutch immigrants Case and Nellie Baan Hofman on September 25th, 1935. She enjoyed growing up with her four siblings on a family farm outside of Meadowlands, MN. After high school, Ann worked in a secretarial position at a business on South Lake Avenue in Duluth, MN near the aerial lift bridge, until she married Ray Horvath in February of 1955. Ann and Ray were devoted to each other for 50 loving years. They kept a hobby farm on the Horvath family homestead in Elmer, MN, and raised an active family with five children. Ann was strong and hard-working, supporting Ray on the farm with the cattle, haying season, and ensuring the family was cared for and provided for. She was a gifted gardener of flowers and vegetables alike.

Life was full while the children were young and in school. One of Ann and Ray’s most beloved traditions was taking the kids on camping trips in their new pop-up pull-behind camper to favorite lakes in northern Minnesota or Canada during the summer. Closer to home, weekend visits to Case and Nellie’s lake cabin near Hibbing was a summer highlight where all the Hofman siblings, nieces, and nephews would gather for swimming and family fun. These are memories that will never fade for all who enjoyed this era at Happy Lake. When the children left home, Ray and Ann built a house in Twig, MN, and moved there in 1992. They both loved the vivid maple trees growing in their yard. Ann took pride in working for LensCrafters in Duluth for five years and greatly enjoyed her relationships with her coworkers. After Ray’s passing in 2004, Ann moved to Hibbing where she bought a little house in town. Living near her son John, and his family with two of her grandsons, gave her much happiness in the following years. Ann lived to spend time with Nick and Dylan - the babysitting days, hockey practices and games, school functions, and their birthday parties. The boys loved spending time with her as much as she loved being with them. One of Ann’s most cherished memories was a Christmas vacation spent with sons Rex and John; Kelli, Nick, and Dylan in Mexico. Ann was very hands-on with projects and took great enjoyment in caring for her little house in Hibbing. She took on endeavors such as refinishing the kitchen cabinets and planting new shrubs all around her house. Ann would also travel to Alaska to visit her daughters Carol and Lori. Most visits were in the summer, but one year Ann visited in the winter and was rewarded one night with an amazing aurora borealis show outside of Fairbanks.

Ann led a good life with lots of love and purpose. She can rest now, knowing she had been a beloved wife, a cherished mother to her children, as well as an unwavering support to her own mother, Nellie, in her final years.

Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Mike Horvath; their young son, Robert, then age 9; her sister Gertrude (Ronnie) Hackman; and brothers Andrew (Kay) Hofman and William (Lynda) Hofman.

She is survived by her brother Anthony (Cheryl) Hofman; her daughters Lori Horvath, and Carol (Bruce) Barnett, both of Fairbanks, AK; and sons John (Kelli) Horvath of Hibbing, MN, and Rex Horvath of Fort Collins, CO; grandchildren Elizabeth, Vincent, and Holly Barnett; Nicholas and Dylan Horvath; as well as great grandchildren, Samuel and Theodore Merrill; and Ella and Trenton Barnett.

A private interment will be held at a later date.