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In Joan Cocca's eyes, her late brother, Martin Hoffman, was an awesome babysitter.

"He would place me on the dining room table with a chocolate doughnut, and he and his friends would watch me," said Cocca, 43, of Plum.

Hoffman was killed in 1983 in Humble, Texas, while helping with cleanup efforts after Hurricane Alicia.

Hoffman and others were cutting down a tree, and he saw it was falling in the direction of some children. He ran toward them, got them out of the way and was killed by the falling tree, his sister said.

Hoffman is one of five Plum graduates selected as members of the Plum High School Distinguished Alumni Class of 2012.

The honorees are set to take their place on the Alumni Wall of Distinction, just outside the Plum High School Auditorium. In addition to Hoffman, the 2012 class members are:

Robert A. DeMichiei senior vice president and chief financial officer of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Class of 1983.

Linda Mulholland Fischbach director of clinical services for Family Services in Dayton, Ohio, and president-elect of the University of Dayton's Lifelong Learning Institute, Class of 1965.

Marcia L. Rosal director of the art therapy program at Florida State University, Class of 1969.

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Distinguished Alumni Class of 2012 set to be honored