The "Another Friend That We Will All Be Without!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Going through the morning paper when I came across the Obituary pages.  In Lancaster County it is not unusual to have 10-15 obituaries in the paper on a daily basis.  One reason is due to the large influx of senior citizens who come to Lancaster County due to our remarkable retirement homes in the area.  And, when you have a large amount of senior citizens, such as myself and my wife, more people will have their picture and story on the obituary pages.  

Jacob T. Hoover, Jr.  Taken from the
1962 Manheim Township High School Yearbook.
He was a history teacher at the high school. 

Sitting top left on the first page was a familiar face.  One whom I have known since 1960-61 when I was a junior at Manheim Township High School (MTHS) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Mr. Jacob T. Hoover was a student teacher in my history class that year.  "Jake", as I got to know him years later, graduated in 1961 from Franklin & Marshal College in Lancaster and began a career in education the following year at Manheim Township High School.  Jake was the best looking guy and had all the girls in class starring at him from the time they entered his classroom until they left.  My friend, Just Sue, who my wife and I travel with every year, along with her husband Jere, was in his history class his first year as an official teacher at MTHS.  She confirmed for me that all the girls in class had a crush on Mr. Hoover.  Very mild mannered teacher who taught 39 years before retiring in 2000.  After retiring he became a member of the monthly breakfast club of retired MT teachers who enjoy a meal with friends and fellow teachers at a restaurant in nearby Lititz, PA.  As I read his obituary I found that he had been married to his childhood sweetheart for over 59 years.  

Jake Hoover in a more recent photo.

I hope she realizes how lucky she was to land Jake as her husband after seeing how many young girls loved to have him in history class.  Jake was a basketball and golf coach at MT as well as the advisor to the Key Club.  As I read his obituary I learned a few things I never knew about him before.  He was an All-Conference football player in high school as well as the Student Body President.  He also taught as an adjunct professor at F&M for two years and volunteered as a part of the Guild at the Fulton Theatre.  He lived most recently at Woodcrest Villas which is a retirement home complex in Lancaster.  While there he participated in the Theatre, Life Story Writers, Trivia Contests and dances.  Jake and his wife Sandra had two children and five grandchildren.  I remember Jake from the many times he would stop in my classroom to talk, since he remembered me from when I was one of his students in the room down the hall.  He was the best looking male teacher in the school and his boyish features lasted as long as I knew him.  I'm finding that the older I get, the more good friends and teachers I will no longer be able to talk with and relive the time when we worked together at good old MT.  May his soul rest in peace!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.