Hoffman, Ellen

From Spearfish Lake Tales Wiki

Ellen Hoffman is a rancher's wife living on the Bar H Bar near Ely, Nevada. She is married to Duane, son of Shirley Hoffman, floor manager of Bettye's Ranch, a legal bordello elsewhere in Nevada. She and Duane have two children, Sara and Will.

Ellen had worked as a prostitute in the late 1960s "for a few shifts, back half a lifetime ago" with the handle "Maggie" before meeting Duane and settling down to work his late father's cattle ranch.

Ellen and her family were hosting the Thanksgiving dinner in 1990 when her boy Will was biten by a snake and Jennlynn Swift saved his life by flying him in Magic Carpet to the hospital in Ely.

She was described as "a fortyish woman on horseback, wearing jeans and a flannel shirt" and a rough-cut jewel, tough and competent.