C. Arthur Hover

OBITUARY

Carl Arthur Hover, 88, loving husband of Ellen Dionna, died peacefully August 15th at home in Dover, PA. He was a beloved father, Grandpa and Great-grandpa.

Born May 12, 1936 in Medford, Oregon, he was the son of Carl Arthur Hover, Sr. and Ruth Orpah Hawk Hover. He was reared on the family farm, instilling in him a passion for the land. A devoted member of Future Farmers of America, he raised his own dairy herd which he sold off to pay for college.

His family were members of the local Disciples of Christ church. In his teen years he spent hours in the Medford Library where he discovered the works of American playwrights, leading him to change his vocational aspiration from veterinary medicine to church ministry.

Arthur was ordained in Oregon in July 1958 and retired from Unitarian Universalist ministry. He served churches in Oregon, Massachusetts, Maine, Arizona and Vermont. From 1972 until 1976 he served as the District Executive Minister for the Northeast District of the Unitarian Universalist Association. He was honored with the title of Minister Emeritus by the First Parish of Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Retiring from parish ministry in 1992, he moved with his wife Ellen to wilderness Vermont where they established Blessingwood, an off-the-grid retreat center. There they led soul quests and spiritual retreats for 13 years before moving to Pennsylvania.

Arthur was equally at home in the realms of the physical world, the universe of ideas, and those of the spirit. Beaver was his totem, and he loved building structures in Vermont with Ellen, including cabin, house and barn, and raising the roadbed to offset rising waters the resident wild beavers dammed. Gardening was his passion and a meditative practice. He was an avid student of the great philosophers, especially Socrates, Seneca and Spinoza. In his forty years of active ministry, he helped countless congregants in their life journeys.

Along with his wife, Ellen Dionna, Arthur is survived by two of his children: Carla Hover and Carl Hover and five step-children: Jonathan Wolf, Carol Wolf, Pamela Wolf MacMahon, Adam Wolf, and Franklin Wolf. He is predeceased by his two sons, Kenneth Arthur and Carson Monroe.

Arthur received degrees from Bushnell College (1958), Bachelor of Theology; University of Oregon (1962), Bachelor of Arts in History; and Tufts University (1966 and 1968), Masters in Sacred Theology and Masters in Education & Counseling.

He was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of York, PA, where a memorial service will be held October 12th at 2:00 p.m. In a final act of generosity he donated his body to medical research.

Memorial donations may be made to the UU Congregation of York or the Unitarian Universalist Society for Ministerial Relief, c/o Rev. Susan Suchocki Brown.