Thomas Hoover

Madison - Thomas Henry Hoover was born in Wilburton, Oklahoma, on September 28, 1919, to Harry and Jesse Hoover, nee Jackson. He grew up in Texas, where he attained the rank of Eagle Scout, and, later, in Bisbee, Arizona. He joined the war effort in 1943, went to Officer Candidate School, and saw action in France, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star.

While on leave in California, he saw Mary Adele Lynehan, a beautiful woman of Irish, French, and Chinook Indian heritage, from across the room at a party and confided to friends, "I'm going to marry that girl." They were married three days later and had a daughter, Kathleen. Their stormy relationship ended in divorce two years later.

He subsequently married Second Lieutenant Viola Kalcik, a farm girl from Kansas who had joined the war effort as a registered nurse. They had a 31-year marriage with four children, Thomas Howard, Ruth Adrienne, Chris Charles, and James Dallas. Viola passed away in 1979. He took his family with him when he was assigned to USAREUR Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1959. As a staff officer in the War Room during the Berlin crisis, he was tasked with preparing the Battle Order. He needed Infantry as soon as possible, and since the Wisconsin National Guard was listed with thirty days readiness (erroneously, as it turned out), he called up the Wisconsin National Guard 32nd Infantry Division. After his tour in Europe, he and his family returned to the States, to Madison, Wisconsin, where he served as the Commandant of Cadets at the University of Wisconsin until his retirement from the Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

He became Assistant to the Associate Registrar, and, subsequently, Associate Registrar, and then Registrar of the University of Wisconsin. He was somewhat famous for sticking with the Assignment Committee method of registration after other universities had gone to automated methods but gained a measure of vindication when he walked into his office one morning to find five copies of the newspaper on his desk bearing the headline that the University of Colorado's registration system had crashed, requiring all 40,000 students to re-register. In 1970, he joined with other Madison parents to found Madison Community School, a non-profit experimental free school that was a precursor to the present Malcolm Shabaz City School. He married Dorothy Ann Cleary of Madison in 1979, gaining daughter Aleta and sons Kevin and Richard. He retired from the University in 1986 and performed charitable work, such as serving on the Board of the Red Cross. He was a skilled woodworker, an avid horseman, a fisherman who loved the Brule river, and an enthusiastic golfer. He had a love for German poetry from the Sturm und Drang period. He was a writer, poet, painter, and sculptor.

He is survived by his wife Dorothy Ann Hoover, his children Kathleen Hoover Bouton (Martin Bouton), Thomas Howard Hoover (Dorothy Jackson), Ruth Hoover Werner (Dean Werner), James Dallas Hoover, and daughter-in-law Debra; step-children Richard Cleary (Sarah), Kevin Cleary (Anne), Aleta Cleary Sigg (John Sigg); grandchildren Sharon McKelvy, William McKelvy (Chandra), William Hoover, Cristin Hoover (Merrick Nelson), Matthew Hoover (Beth), Brett Hoover, Patrick Coeyman Cleary, Amanda Coeyman Cleary, Alison Cleary, Colin Cleary, and Alexandra Sigg; and great-grandchild Zachary.

He was preceded in death by ex-wife Kathleen Adele, former wife Viola, and son Chris Charles Hoover (Debra).

A graveside service will be held at FOREST HILL CEMETERY, 1 Speedway Road, Madison, on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. Please meet at the front entrance.

Please consider a donation to your favorite charity in lieu of flowers. Tom liked Smile Train, Heifer International, and the University of Wisconsin.

"Auch das Sch�ne muss sterben!
Das Menschen und G�tter bezwinget
Nicht die eherne Brust ruehrt es des stygischen Zeus."