Thomas Hoover, former registrar, dies at 92

Co-workers remembered former University of Wisconsin–Madison registrar Thomas Hoover as a kind and cheery fellow who loved the outdoors and Gummi bears.

Hoover, 92, died on Dec. 2. He grew up in Texas and joined the Army in 1943, heading to Officer Candidate School.

Hoover saw action in France during World War II and was awarded the Bronze Star. Later, he served as Commandant of Cadets at UW–Madison  until his retirement from the Army with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Hoover worked his way up in the university registrar’s office. Initially, he served as assistant to the associate registrar before moving into the associate registrar position and, eventually, Hoover became registrar himself.

“I remember he was firm in the office, but yet very gentle,” says Jenny Hefty.

Hefty, who works as a university services program associate in the student records section of the registrar’s office, says Hoover was registrar when she joined the office in 1974.

“He was an outdoorsman and he loved his horses,” says Hefty.

Hoover’s third wife, Dorothy Ann, also worked in the registrar’s office. Later his grandson, Bill, worked in the office in 2004 and 2005, Hefty says.

When Hoover retired, in 1986, he and Dorothy Ann took his favorite horse, Copper, out west to ride in the mountains. The couple also went whitewater rafting on that trip. His co-workers presented him with a pair of binoculars as a retirement gift, Hefty says.

Hefty also remembers that Hoover was a lover of Gummi bears, recalling that he bought a large quantity from students selling the candy for a fundraiser.

Hoover was involved in charity work after leaving the UW, such as serving on the board of the Red Cross. He was also among the parents who helped found the Madison Community School, a non-profit school that was a precursor to Malcolm Shabazz City School.

Hoover is also remembered as a skilled woodworker and an avid fisherman and golfer. He had a love for German poetry of the Sturm und Drang period, and was also a writer and poet himself as well as a painter and sculptor.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Ann, and many children, step-children and grandchildren.

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