Hofstede was born in
Minneapolis on September 25, 1940. He and his wife, Barb, had two children, Emily and Albert. Barb Hofstede died of breast cancer while their children were still young. Albert met and married his second wife, Emma Hofstede (
née Hild), a schoolteacher and a nun. His sister-in-law, Diane Hofstede, was elected to the Minneapolis Library Board and later to the Minneapolis City Council, representing Ward 3. Hofstede died on September 3, 2016, in Minneapolis at the age of 75. At the time he lived in
Blaine. ==References==