ROLAND HOOVER Obituary

Roland Armitage Hoover
Of Bethesda, Maryland passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, November 7, 2018. He was born on January 14, 1929 in Buffalo, New York. He attended Ossining High School and Yale University, earning a B.S. in Industrial Administration in 1949. He served as a Lieutenant JG in the United States Navy during the Korean War. In 1962 he married Cynthia Lee Adams, and they had two daughters, Sarah and Emily. He worked as Director of Publications at the Brookings Institution and as Yale University Printer. A highly regarded graphic designer and letterpress printer, Roland designed countless posters, announcements, keepsakes and books for organizations including the Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Art, and Library of Congress, as well as for his parish, St. Columba's Episcopal Church. Roland is survived by his wife Cynthia, his daughter Sarah Adams Hoover and son-in-law David Ware, daughter Emily Hoover Dooley, and grandchildren Helena Adams Ware, Eleanor Clare Dooley and Owen Josef Dooley. A memorial service will be held at St. Columba's Church on Sunday, November 18, 2018 at 3 p.m.

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Published by The Washington Post on Nov. 11, 2018.

Memories and Condolences
for ROLAND HOOVER

5 Entries

David Dooley

May 12, 2021

I'll always remember fondly Roland's willingness to discuss subject matters that veered into the obscure and academic... and he would do so with enthusiasm as if hearing about the subject matter for the first time. I got to know Roland during a time period of my life where I was a little stressed writing my Master's Thesis on Art Deco Architecture... IN Delaware! He never batted an eye or made any snide remark - simply asked one inquisitive and thoughtful question after another. And once we found a common love for Art Deco Fonts and type sets... well, game over!

I truly appreciated Roland's generous curiosity and engaging intellect.

I'll relay one funny travel incident with Roland. We once took a jaunt through Scandinavia. After a long flight and train ride, we arrived in Norway to settle into our Hotel room for the night. Now this was the dead of winter, I think in February, and the hotel keepers had set the thermostat to nearly the lowest setting (while vacant in between guests and comfortable for native reindeer). Anyway, to make a long story shorter, without going into too much detail about the ivory color plastic knob of the thermostat or the austere appointments of the room; I, without knowing what the numbers on the little dial meant on the radiator in our room, set the number to what I thought was a "lukewarm or halfway" setting. Since I was going out to explore the downtown with my brother before going to bed, as it was still early nightfall. Roland on the other hand, exhausted from the Day's travel, was going to stay behind so I didn't give it much thought as I cranked up the thermostat’s knob up to a comfortable "25"?

Well, as I quietly tried to sneak back into the room around midnight, expecting Roland to be sound asleep from his weariness, I found him sitting up in the bed, covers tossed to the side and wearing his pajamas looking like he was ready for a last Whiskey and a cigar on some hot and humid night overlooking Havana's harbor - in July! Needless to say, the room was a little too steamy and hot to sleep comfortably, especially for native reindeer with their full winter coat! Anyway, Roland with only a tinge of cynicism, decided that this was a good opportunity to educate me on the "Relative Comfort and Radiator Thermostat Settings of Scandinavia: A comparative of Celsius versus Fahrenheit."

Roland had the inquisitive gift to discuss and travel anywhere, even if it was only in the intellectual realm. I miss his humility and humor and I hope someone in heaven is making him laugh now and that the thermostat is not set at 25! – Fond wishes towards his family, sincerely - David Dooley

John and Nancy

November 12, 2018

We consider Roland a true friend and a perfect gentleman. He will be dearly missed.

CKT

November 12, 2018

MAY THE THOUGHT OF KNOWING THAT FAMILY AND FRIENDS SHARE IN YOUR GRIEF BRING YOU A MEASURE OF COMFORT.PLEASE READ PROV 17:17

November 12, 2018

Dear Cynthia and Sarah,
It has been quite a long time since we've been in touch, but we were very saddened to hear of your husband/father's recent passing. We, unfortunately, never had the pleasure of meeting him, which we very much regret. Please accept our most sincere condolences. John & Jude Lubrano

Barbara Lambert

November 12, 2018

A lovelier man there never was.

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