Vincent W. Hoversten passed away on November 23, 2022, at the age of 94. He was born on June 20, 1928 in Lyon County, Minnesota on the farm of his parents, Elias and Martha Hoversten, the 12th of their 14 children. He spent his childhood on the farm with Kermit, his twin brother and cohort in mischief. During that time they formed a lifelong bond, unbroken by time and distance. His education began at the local country school, then Minneota High School. After graduating from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, he joined the staff of Fairmont High School in southern Minnesota as an English teacher. After two years, he decided to change his profession and moved back to Minneapolis where he earned his MD at the University of Minnesota. He married Marjorie Cravens in 1955. He completed his internship in San Jose, CA, moving there with his young family. Following that year, he served as a physician in the psychiatric department of the U.S Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, MO. One of the defining events of his time there was a prison riot, and he was happy to move on for his residency in Internal Medicine at the Veterans Hospital in San Francisco and San Francisco General Hospital. In 1965 he moved for the final time to Marin County, CA, where he opened his practice.
He loved his work in medicine, and over the 35 years that he practiced, many of his patients became personal friends. In addition to his fulltime practice, he worked part time at the student health center of the University of California in Berkeley. Not one to become involved in causes and committees, he spent his free time exploring the culture and geography of the Bay Area, as well as developing his garden. He would return from a Sunday family drive with a trunk full of new plants discovered at a little nursery off the beaten path. His love for his garden became a part of the life of his daughters, who were enlisted to pick stones, shovel sawdust, and carry boards for construction of the fences. He had a talent for drawing and painting which he pursued throughout his life, as well as hunting down antiques which he refinished and turned into household furnishings. His travels with family and friends include Africa, Europe, Mexico, Canada and Hawaii, but he was happiest at home where he could monitor his garden and pool.
Vincent was preceded in death by his parents, Elias and Martha Hoversten: brothers Knut, Joseph, Emmanuel, Clarence, Chester, and his twin, Kermit; sisters Emma, Ellen, Clara, Christine, Bernice and Esther. He is survived by his brother Garfield; wife Marge; daughters Kristine (Jim) Silva, Greta, Sonja, and Anita (Bob Massey); and by grandchildren Ross and Evan Massey; Clara Silva; Jake, Emma and Cora Shapiro; and Michael Davey.
The last 4 years and 10 months of his life were spent at the Windchime of Marin Memory Care Community in Kentfield, CA. The family wishes to extend sincere thanks for the kindness and care the staff extended to him, as well as to the staff of Suncrest Hospice.
No services are planned at this time. To anyone wishing to celebrate his life with a memorial, the family suggests Doctors Without Borders, or a charity of choice.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18