Letters

Inspiring Words from Andrew Hoover

I was saddened to learn of Professor Andrew Hoover’s death, and your Memorial Minute reminded me of a story about him. He was actually born and raised in a small town in Kentucky where my mother grew up, and he knew her family well. I was a music major in the Conservatory and felt very lucky that I had been able to squeeze in an American literature course with Mr. Hoover during my last semester. On my final exam, I wrote about enjoying his course very much—it had certainly been one of the best courses I took in four years. To my great surprise, he wrote back on the exam that I had done very well and should seriously consider throwing over the piano and becoming an English teacher! Although I did continue on with my music career, my very first job was teaching English to junior high students in Florida. He was a fabulous teacher and a great human being.
Lourana Swift Thomas ’56
Oakmont, Pennsylvania