Lawrence Arthur Hover

LAWRENCE ARTHUR HOVER March 2, 1926 ~ October 23, 2012 Lawrence Hover, age 86, died on Oct. 23, 2012 from COPD. He was born to Arthur and Myrth Hover and lived his entire life in Vancouver, WA. He grew up during the war years when Vancouver was alive 24 hours a day, teeming with Kaiser shipyard workers, trolley cars and five movie theaters. Larry graduated from Vancouver High School in 1944, and maintained contact with his class members at monthly luncheons throughout the years. He married Audrey Belle Sanderson, a local girl, in 1946 and they had three daughters: Konnie, Debbie and Carla. Larry started out working for the Vancouver Water Dept., then got a job at Alcoa. His big break came in 1956 when he became partners with Bud Cole in owning the Richfield gas station at 10th & Washington in downtown Vancouver, across the street from Bill Marshall Ford. In 1958, Larry struck out on his own with a Richfield service station at 4th Plain and Fruit Valley Road. In 1961, he became the owner of the Richfield (later to become ARCO) gas station on MacArthur Blvd. in the Dairy Queen shopping center. He retired from the service station business in 1978, and went to work at Columbia Machine in the palletizer department, retiring in 1988. Larry lost his wife Audrey to colon cancer in 1985. But he got lucky and married Tillie Empting in 1988. After retiring, they enjoyed many years of snowbirding in Arizona and southern California, spending most of their time in Yuma, AZ. Oh, how he loved to cross the border into Algodones, Mexico to buy his medications, eat tacos and visit with the locals. He had COPD and Macular Degeneration, but he never complained and it sure didn't slow him down-he had his portable oxygen tank on his riding lawnmower, power grocery carts, and Rascal Scooter. Larry was a man of many talents-as were most men of his generation. He could fix almost anything-cars, boats, motorhomes, houses, plumbing, electrical- and he was relied upon by family and friends. Larry is survived by his wife, Tillie; daughter, Konnie Hover O'Hearn (Rik); step-children, Larry Empting, Steve (Kris) Empting and Susan (Mike) Weisenborn; grandson, Tyler Gaylord (Ginny); numerous grandchildren and great- grandchildren; and nephew and nieces, Bruce Chesterfield (Susan), Barbie Sheldon (Brian) and Jonna Russell (Roland). He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Lorene; wife, Audrey; and daughters, Debbie Hover Gaylord and Carla Hover Colby. Larry's funeral will be Sat., Nov. 3rd, at 3:00 p.m. at Evergreen Memorial Gardens. We encourage you to bring your memories of Larry to share with us. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Hospice

Lawrence Arthur Hover

March 2, 1926 - October 23, 2012