Richard “Dick” Kent Hoover, aged 86, entered eternal rest on December 24, 2025, at Roscoe Gardens Skilled Nursing Center. He was born to the late Robert Verne and Lois Samsel Hoover on May 1, 1939, in Mansfield, Ohio. He graduated from Mansfield High School, Otterbein University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and United Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree. Called by God to Christian ministry, he was ordained in 1964 in the Evangelical United Brethren Church which merged with the Methodist Church in 1968. He was the beloved pastor of Greensburg United Methodist Church, Streetsboro United Methodist Church, Bellevue First United Methodist Church, and Roscoe United Methodist Church, all in the East Ohio Conference. After retiring from full-time ministry, he worked in Roscoe Village in different roles such as a tour guide, impersonating Dr. Johnson, the broom squire, the printer, and as the curator of the Toy Cellar.
Dick gave back to the Coshocton community by serving terms on the Drug and Alcohol Council, the Hospice Board, a United Way Campaign Cabinet, and the Garden Planning Committee for Clary Gardens. For many years he planned the themes and chose the scriptures for the Community Lenten Lunches and for 16 years wrote the narration for the Coshocton Community Choir’s Christmas Festival concerts.
He married Alice Heft Hoover on July 15, 1962. This marriage, based on love, respect, and mutual admiration, lasted for over 63 years. Surviving are two sons, Stephen (Shelbie) Hoover and step-grandson, Phillip Williams of Lima, Ohio and Timothy (Tracy) Hoover or Plainfield, Ohio. Also surviving are Dr. Emily Rucker (sister-in-law) and John McAllister (brother-in-law) as well as nieces, nephews, and cousins. He is preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Lois Hoover, his wife’s parents Russell and Mildred Heft, two sisters-in-law Ruth Jeffrey and Marcia McAllister, as well as a daughter-in-law Beth Hoover.
Dick’s faith in God was the spine of his character and love was his motto: love for God, for family, for friends, and for the less fortunate.
Calling hours will be on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at Given-Dawson-Paisley Funeral Home from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm and from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at the Coshocton Presbyterian Church. A Celebration of Life will follow in the Custer Chapel at the Church at 11:00 am with Rev. Mark Unrue, Rev. Robert Mitchell and Rev. Larry Bobbitt officiating. Burial will follow at Roscoe Cemetery.
Memorial gifts may be made to Roscoe United Methodist Church, Coshocton Presbyterian Church, or the Coshocton Salvation Army.
Given-Dawson-Paisley Funeral Home is serving the family.
