Sidney Shepardson Hoover

1931 - 2020

Sidney Shepardson Hoover August 8, 1931 November 24, 2020 Sidney Shepardson Hoover passed away peacefully at the age of 89, surrounded by family. Soon after her birth in Watertown, Connecticut, her father accepted a teaching position in Hawaii a decision that would shape Sidney's life immeasurably. She spent her first birthday aboard the ship as it traveled through the Panama Canal. Growing up in idyllic Honolulu, she ran barefoot, body-surfed at Waikiki Beach, and picked wild plumeria, stringing them into fragrant leis and garlands. At Punahou School, she acted in plays and was the class debate champion. Her generous smile, her poise and possibly how she moved in a grass skirt won her a speaking role in a Dole Pineapple commercial. Sidney was a captivating storyteller, and one of the most memorable stories she told was about living through Pearl Harbor, a tale that transfixed her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. From Honolulu, Sidney went to Monmouth College, where she discovered the value of a heavy wool coat and the role good luck would play in her life: on campus, she met her future husband, Lyle Hoover. He serenaded her with the song "Younger Than Springtime," and soon they married in Hawaii, on a hilltop overlooking Diamond Head. For the next 68 years of their marriage, she often remarked on how fortunate she was to have married such a compassionate man, one whose profound love and admiration for her brought her so much joy, comfort, and strength. Their early years together were spent in Fort Bragg, NC, then Cincinnati, OH; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Toronto, Canada. By the time they arrived in Marin County in 1960, they'd had three children: Gregg, Leslie, and Allison. They are deeply grateful to have had a mother who demonstrated her love in so many creative ways: making elaborate Halloween costumes, papier maché birthday pi¤atas, hand-smocked Easter dresses, ikebana flower arrangements and, in the kitchen, fondues and curries and soufflés. Without dropping a whisk, Sidney returned to college full-time at San Francisco State, volunteered at Marin General and Sunny Hills Guild, and began her career teaching the hearing impaired. Reading was a lifelong passion of hers, as was learning. For two decades, she took Italian language courses and made more than a dozen trips to Italy with her fellow students and friends, where they studied, explored, and laughed over shared meals. At Smith Ranch Homes, where she and Lyle moved in 2011, she chaired the landscape and architecture committees, bringing to her duties her eye for elegant design and her knowledge of gardening. Whatever Sidney did in her long, fulfilling life, she did it with great commitment, enthusiasm and care. A loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, she will be dearly missed. She is survived by her husband, Lyle; children, Gregg Hoover, Leslie Redwine (Ben Redwine), and Allison Bartlett (John Bartlett); grandchildren Daniel Dwyer (Amy Dwyer), Carly Whatley (Adam Whatley), Julian Bartlett (Holly Bartlett), and Sonja Bartlett; and great-grandchildren Hayes, Mary Lyle and James Whatley; and Claire Dwyer. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer's Association.