William Franklin Hoover

Dr. William Franklin Hoover, Sr. By: Bill Hoover, Jr. Dr. W.F. or Bill Hoover was born on September 5, 1929, in Portsmouth, Ohio, to Mildred and L.F. Hoover. Childhood memories included surviving two complete floods of his hometown, having a large paper route for the Portsmouth Times, that was along the Ohio River's floodwall; participating in Soap Box Derby racing, and growing up in the Valley Supply hardware/general store; that his father managed; and the neighborhood grocery store, which was owned by his Grandma Werner. His father's two delivery routes for the Valley Supply included the properties of the infamous Hatfield and McCoy families. Hoover was a dinner guest of both families once a year when his father brought Grandma Hoover and him along for an annual family experience. He also recalled seeing "the" Jesse Owens run inside Spartan Stadium, the original home of the Detroit Lions football team, and knew many Spartan players who boarded at his Grandmother's Portsmouth home during the football season. As a teenager, while attending Portsmouth High School, and then as a young adult, at Ohio State University, Dr. Hoover worked as a lifeguard at the Dreamland Swimming Pool and for the local radio station, in Portsmouth. He also began a lifelong interest in photography and enjoyed boating on the Ohio River and its tributaries with his lifelong friend Bob Kuhn. While attending O.S.U. he lived inside the famous football stadium in the recently closed "under the bleachers" dorms. Upon graduation from OSU, Dr. Hoover met his cousin's roommate, Eula Margo Horn, at Miami University. After courting for one year, they were married on June 8, 1952, at the Sugar Valley Methodist Church, in Dixon Township, Ohio. While completing his master's degree work at Miami, Dr. Hoover worked at the General Electric Factory, where he successfully promoted and designed the assembly line concept for the Evendale factory outside Cincinnati. He also began teaching during his years at Miami. Upon graduation from Miami, he then continued his 43-year teaching career. In addition to teaching at Grosse Pointe Richard and Grosse Pointe South High School, where he served for 39 years, Hoover taught in two Ohio school districts, and overseas with the US Dependents Schools with his wife Eula, at Sculthorpe AFB, Norfolk, England. During his teaching career, Hoover completed his Doctorate in Education from Wayne State University, in instructional technologies. Hoover's expertise in stage and studio lighting made him an integral part of Grosse Pointe South's plays, water ballets, and several local play and film productions. Hoover also was the secretary for the teacher's union during a tension-filled but mutually successful teacher's strike. One of his biggest professional honors was being the sole provider of lighting, sound, and recording of one of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s final speeches, when Dr. King spoke at Grosse Pointe (South) High, shortly before his assassination. Hoover's adult life activities included designing and building Grosse Ponte South's current graduation stage, was a co-founder of the Childbirth Education Service, in East Suburban Detroit; invented and sold the rights to a camera lense extender, wrote several booklets on air rifles and Commodore computers; invented a football board game, and created educational filmstrips. He also was the 1986 Homecoming Grand Marshall at Grosse Pointe South High School. Hoover also enjoyed trotline fishing in the Ohio River with his father and son, and fishing with his son and grandchildren at the Grosse Pointe Woods Park. He also free lanced for several national photographic journals and one commercial towboating newspaper, where he was known as Doc Catfish. He was also honored to speak on behalf of the National Rifle Association as an air rifle expert on instruction. Hoover was most passionate about his family, annually driving the 300 plus miles to his parents' home in Portsmouth or inlaws in Eaton, Ohio, sometimes just to shovel heavy snows, and caring for his six grandchildren, which sometimes included homeschooling and providing childcare. Hoover was known to say, "There is no system to replace individual attention," and he modeled that every day by his excellence as a husband, father, neighbor, professional, and friend. Hoover is survived by his wife of 57 years, Eula, two beloved children Valerie Pryzdatek, Bill Hoover, Jr., and grandchildren Lindsay, Kendall, and Christine Cassidy; Olivia, Billy III, and Brooke Hoover; and step-grandchildren John Michael and Augustus Pryzdatek. Funeral service will be held Sunday 7 PM at A.H. Peters Funeral Home, 20705 Mack Avenue at Vernier Road, Grosse Pointe Woods, with visitation from 12:30 PM - 9 PM

Funeral Home:

A. H. Peters Funeral Home of Grosse Pointe

20705 Mack Avenue

Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

US 48236