Jerry Lee Hoover

Jerry Lee Hoover, 90, passed away peacefully on May 14, 2026, in Huntsville, Texas. He was born on April 2, 1936, in Springfield, Missouri, the middle of Doyle and Pearl Hoover’s three sons. Jerry spoke fondly of his childhood in Springfield and of the close-knit community surrounding the Frisco Yards and Railway Roundhouse where his father worked.

Jerry married the love of his life, Carolyn Kay Hoover, on December 15, 1962. Seeking greater job opportunities than those available in Springfield, Jerry and Kay moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma to begin their married life. They purchased a modest home with a beautiful park situated behind it and an old barn next door. They lived in that home for more than 35 years while raising their three sons: Christopher, Gregory, and Matthew. Jerry was a committed and faithful provider while Kay was the doting and nurturing stay-at-home mom. Family memories (and legends) are filled with the boys climbing trees in the park, reluctantly working on cars with their dad, and endless stories of all their neighborhood friends.

Jerry was a man of remarkable engineering ability, mechanical skill, and legendary frugality. Jerry reused every conceivable type of container, from jelly jars, to coffee cans, to yogurt cups, all sorted with every kind of fittings and fasteners and odd and ends imaginable. He had a lifelong passion for cars, woodworking, tinkering in the garage, and most especially, all things related to airplanes. On most Saturdays, he drove Chris, Greg, and Matt to Harvey Young Airport, where he worked on his airplanes and took them flying in his Piper aircraft. He was also the proud owner of a legendary 1967 Mooney M-20.

After serving two years in the Army, he worked for the Oklahoma Highway Department, where a supervisor quickly recognized his natural engineering talent. That supervisor pulled Jerry from the roadside crew and mentored him with hands-on engineering training, forever changing the trajectory of his career.

Jerry absolutely loved his work, retiring in 2001 after a fulfilling 32 year career with Rockwell International as an aeronautical engineer. He often said, and deeply believed, “If you find a job that you love, you will never work a day in your life.” During Jerry’s time at Rockwell, the company was granted numerous high-profile aerospace contracts, and he was honored to contribute to several of those significant projects. He especially enjoyed talking about his electrical work on the Apollo spacecrafts as well engineering the doors on the space shuttle. He also worked on the HYDE project, which was the group involved in the secret engineering breakthroughs that directly enabled the development of stealthy Vietnam-era drones, and ultimately, the B-1 bomber.

After retirement, Jerry and Kay moved to their dream home in Buena Vista, Colorado, in 2002. Jerry continued to tinker on planes, built and managed storage units, all the while he and Kay hosted many family and friends in their gorgeous mountain home. He and Kay loved being a part of Mountain Heights Baptist Church during their time there. Following Kay’s sudden passing in 2015, he moved back to Springfield in 2016.

Though he deeply missed Kay, he often admitted he was happy to have left the Colorado cold and snow behind, and he treasured being back in his hometown. During those final years in Springfield, he enjoyed weekly breakfasts and Bible study with high school friends, Sunday School at High Street Baptist Church, daily morning coffee visits with his brother Don and sister-in-law Tudy, and meals at the Fair Grove Senior Center.

His final years in Springfield would not have been as wonderful without the precious companionship of his cherished friend Rue Ann Withers. Rue was a source of great delight for Jerry, as well as a faithful and trusted support for him as his health began to decline.

In June of 2025, he was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer. He spent his final seven months of life in Huntsville, Texas, living with his oldest son, Chris, and daughter-in-law, Christine, and his beloved cat Candy, who had been Kay’s cat before she passed. During those months, he was blessed with visits from friends and family, including special time with his great-granddaughters Nora and Ivey. He frequently commented on how much he loved sitting on Chris and Christine’s back porch beneath their towering pine trees. Jerry was immensely proud of his sons and their families and lived a life exemplifying his values of hard work and kindness to others in need.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Kay; daughter-in-law, Lori Lee Hoover; parents, Doyle and Pearl Hoover; and brother, Jim Hoover.

He is survived by his three sons: Chris Hoover (wife Christine), Greg Hoover (partner Peter), and Matt Hoover; grandchildren, Madison Graves (husband Garrett), Landon Hoover, Colton Hoover (wife Alyssa), Joshua Hoover, and Ashley Hoover; and two great-granddaughters, Nora and Ivey Graves, and his brother Don Hoover and sister-in-law Tudy.

A Memorial Service honoring Jerry’s life will be held on July 17, 2026 at 2:00 at High Street Baptist Church in Springfield, MO, in the Companion Sunday School Room.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made for senior meals at the Fair Grove Senior Center in Missouri at https://senioragemo.org/ or to St Jude’s Children’s Hospital at https://www.stjude.org/.