Obituary of Claire Hoover

Claire Marie (Slocum) Hoover, a woman who devoted her life to her family, passed away at Windsor Place in Wilmington on Saturday, November 3, 2012. The beloved wife of the late William L. Hoover, who passed away in 2008, she was 81 years old. Claire was born in Medford. She was raised and educated in Fall River, Somerville and Medford. Claire was a graduate of Medford High School. She was the daughter of the late John and Hazel Slocum. Claire and Bill settled in Burlington in 1962 where they raised their three sons. Claire’s life revolved around her husband, her sons and her grandchildren. Her primary role in life to create a warm and loving home for her family. Claire had been a volunteer at Choate Hospital in Woburn. She enjoyed ceramics and bowling. Claire and Bill had a wonderful 54 years of marriage together. They enjoyed traveling and visited destinations all over the United States visiting such places as Hawaii, Bermuda and also taking many cruises! Claire will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, and grandmother who always put her family first. Claire was the beloved wife of late William L. Hoover. She was the devoted mother of William R. Hoover & his wife Laurie of Burlington, Robert T. Hoover & his spouse John Gibbs of Malden and Bruce A. Hoover of Dipolog City Philippines. Claire was the proud grandmother of William G., Nicole M., Jason R. & Melissa C. Graveside services will be held at Pine Haven Cemetery, Bedford St., Burlington, on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m. Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt., 128, Woburn side) on Wednesday from 4-8 p.m. Interment in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington. Memorials in Claire’s name may be made to Alzheimer’s Association Massachusetts Chapter, 311 Arsenal St., Watertown, MA 02472. Nicole's Eulogy For those of you here who do not know me, my name is Nicole and I am Claire’s oldest granddaughter. I loved my nana very much. Something about her just always made me feel so safe, warm and loved. Walking into her house, you knew you were going to get a big hug, a smile and probably a cookie or two. Sometimes that was all I needed on a bad day to feel better. She was so sweet and caring, but she always stood up for what was right. I am very honored to stand up here today. I remember when I was a little girl, how excited I was every time I got to go visit my nana. As Claire’s grandchildren, we were spoiled rotten. On our birthdays, she always made us the best cakes decorated with so much candy you couldn’t even see the frosting. On Christmas, she would always buy too many presents for me, Billy, Jason and Melissa. You couldn’t even walk into the TV room without tripping over a doll or a board game. Like most toys you buy for kids, you need batteries. I remember opening each gift and finding batteries attached to each box. It’s things like this that will make me miss her. She always remembered the little things. She had such an amazing sense of humor. I can’t remember a day that I wasn’t around her, without her laughing or giving someone a hard time. I remember one day my dad asked her, “Mom did you eat lunch?” And she replied with a sarcastic tone “Yeah I had cookies” In that she did. My grandmother had a wonderful life. She had a husband who loved her and a family who adored her. It didn’t take much to make her happy—a card, a visit, yellow roses or chocolate M&M’s. She was a happy go lucky woman with a heart of gold and we can never forget that there is a part of her in each of us. There will be times in all of our lives when situations will arise where we’ll want so much to talk to her, be with her or ask her just what we should do. I hope that, when those times come, we can begin to look to each other and find that part of her that she gave to each of us. We often say that people have a guardian angel watching over them. I don’t know if I did before, but I certainly will now. Losing my grandmother has been very painful for my family and me. When I have children one day, I will be sure to tell them what a wonderful person she was and pass on her kind and loving heart to them. Her memory will continue to live on forever in all of our hearts.