Obituary: Joshua Allen Hoffs, renowned psychoanalyst and father of Bangles singer-guitarist Susanna Hoffs, dies at 91

Josh Hoffs, M.D., 91, of Los Angeles, died peacefully in his home on Aug. 4.

Josh was born in New York City on Jan. 2, 1933, to Saul and Dorothy Hoffs. He was raised with younger brother Malcolm in Brooklyn. He graduated from James Madison High School, where he was a classmate of Justice Ruth Bader Ginbsurg.

He received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1954. As a student at Harvard, he studied with Anna Freud, who at that time was a visiting professor and lecturer in psychoanalysis and child development. He remained in contact with her over the course of her lifetime through correspondence. Hoffs studied medicine at Yale University and the University of Chicago, and received his M.D. in 1957.

While at Yale, Josh met and fell in love with an accomplished art student from Chicago named Tamar Simon. Josh and Tammy were married in Chicago on March 17, 1957, before heading West to California where they began their careers -- Josh as a psychoanalyst and Tammy as a writer, painter, and filmmaker -- and started their family together. They would remain happily wed in Los Angeles for 67 years.

Josh did his internship at the VA Hospital of West Los Angeles and completed a residency in psychiatry at UCLA and psychoanalytic training at the Los Angeles Institute for Psychoanalysis, where he became a training and supervising analyst in 1970. He worked as a psychoanalyst and maintained a robust private practice in West LA for nearly 50 years. He was a training and supervising analyst at the New Center for Psychoanalysis, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA and a member of the Brain Research Institute.

He is remembered at these institutions as a skillful professional, a kind and loyal colleague, and a patient and generous mentor. Clinically, he focused on the patient's ego adaptation and self-esteem. He built long-lasting relationships with his patients, who cherished his openness and insight. He was supportive, wise, and tolerant. In addition to his dedication to psychoanalysis, Josh was passionate about music and the arts and was an accomplished and prolific painter, who evolved through phases inspired by the bright colors of brain scans, and the bold vertical color band divisions of Rothko.

Josh was loved by his family for his non-judgmental attitude, sentimental streak, irreverent sense of humor, and his passion for deep and attentive one-on-one conversations.

Tamar Simon-Joshua Allen engagement announcement in the Chicago Tribune (Feb. 24, 1957)

Josh and Tammy in 2019

Josh is preceded in death by his parents and brother Mal. He is survived by his wife, Tammy; children John, Susanna and Jesse; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Los Angeles Times from Aug. 17 to Aug. 18, 2024.

The Bangles fondly remember Mr. Hoffs.