‹

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

William "Billy"

William "Billy" Charles Hoover Profile Photo

Charles Hoover

September 14, 1959 – March 4, 2023

Obituary

William "Billy" Hoover, the Wordsmith, lost all of his words on Feb. 24, 2023, after a massive stroke, and so he embarked on a journey on March 4 at 1:05 in the afternoon to find them.
Billy was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in September of 1959 to Willam Franklin and Charlene Eleanor (Sweigart) Hoover. He moved to Texas with his parents and older siblings, Greg and Jenny Ann, in the summer of 1966. His father was transferred from Olmstead Air Force Base in PA to Kelly AFB.
A young Billy expected to see desert sands, wild horses, rodeo cowboys and wind-blown tumbleweeds rolling by when he first arrived in San Antonio at the age of six. He was already creating stories for himself by that time. When he reached middle school, he was well-practiced in imagining stories while sitting outside the principle's office, waiting to explain the current situation and why it wasn't his fault.
By the time he was graduating John Marshall High School, the seed for his creative pursuit as an adult later in life had already been planted. Billy was part of the Rampage newspaper staff then, and was often seen behind the camera taking pictures. He was active in all kinds of physical activities, especially with his best friend Gregg Eckhardt. They often took trips to the coast and could be found near a body of water most summer days. Billy enjoyed 80 foot cliff diving from Diablo East at Lake Amistad, running, and doing handstands while walking and riding his skateboard. He was a life guard, a black belt in karate and a bartender after he graduated. Billy was most comfortable being barefoot, in shorts with no shirt on.
In mid-September of 1981, in the dark early morning hours, Billy had to make a choice after leaving work late one night from Fair Oaks Country Club. The choice was between what he thought was certain death by hitting the passel of deer he found while riding around a blind curve on his motorcycle, or possibly living by heading into what appeared to be brush along the roadside. He took to the brush, not knowing there was a steep ravine on the other side. Billy didn't come home that night and it wasn't until the next day when he did not show up for work that anyone began to think something might be wrong. Once he was found 13 hours later and taken to the hospital, exploratory surgery was performed along his spine only to discover nothing was broken. It was simply a swelling of the blood around Billy's T 4/5 that caused the spinal cord injury. As a result, messages could travel up his spine but they just couldn't go down. He also sustained a left brachial plexus stretch injury when his left arm was pulled away from his body. After almost a year in Bexar County Hospital, he went to the wonderful "new" rehabilitation center at Warm Springs in Gonzales, Tx, which is now closed. While there, he learned how to be more independent and began chasing the girls all over again.
After rehab, Billy returned to his family home in Colonies North and began college studies at UTSA when it was just a small quadrangle of buildings for a campus. It was there under the guidance, critique and wisdom of many professors, like Ann Eisenberg, that he began to refine his writing and storytelling talents. It was there, too, that he found Dawn. He graduated Magnum Cum Laude with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. He saw other wheelchair graduates receiving their diplomas by going in front of the stage, down on the ground with their diplomas handed to them from above. That would not do for Billy! He wanted equal treatment. So, with the help of his best friends, Gregg Eckhardt, Alan Ashworth and Nick Wren, he was lifted up onto the stage to receive his diploma like everyone else. A roar of approval went up from the crowd. Billy had found his voice.
He then went on to pursue his Master's degree in Public Administration. Upon graduating with his Master's, the administration at UTSA warned him that he could not pull that graduation stunt again. Billy, still causing a ruckus, had an ace up his left sleeve and replied, "I won't have to because you are going to build a ramp for me."  This was in 1991 and the Americans with Disabilities Act had just been signed into law. To say the administration during that timeframe were not happy with Billy and all the new accessibility designs he was requiring of them to install and build is to putting it mildly.  But now, there's an easily accessible ramp in the Quad because of Billy. There are wheelchair and walker accessible bathrooms because of his advocacy. There was a huge ramp built on both sides of the main stage where everyone could transverse and have easy access to during graduation ceremonies. It didn't matter if you were wearing heels, used a walker, used a cane, had a service dog or used a wheelchair, you could move across the stage to receive your diploma with everyone else. "You're welcome," says Billy.
Billy spent almost a year in Austin, with Dawn, Jazz and Squeaky Marie (Boston Terriers), after graduating with his Master's while working for the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities. He then came back to San Antonio to work as a case manager for RIOSA. In late 1995, he moved to Hondo. He began working for the Hondo Anvil Herald in July of 1997 where he enjoyed doing what he loves most: telling stories, writing stories and covering the news for the Cities of Hondo and Castroville. He wrote every story, thousands of articles, with only his right hand on his small laptop. He enjoyed almost 26 years of writing for the HAH and even had a story come out in the paper the day before his terrible stoke.
Billy's compassion, his joy for life, kindness, wisdom, caring, intelligence and zest for the humorous side of living touched just about everything he did and everyone who came into contact with him. He would take his time with people; when in his presence, they knew he cared. He was strong without being rude. He was kind, bold and yet humble. He was proud and no longer arrogant, as when he was a kid running around and climbing trees all day. He loved words so much — he played with them like a smooth jazz saxophone player does with his melodies. Billy crafted with words. He lived and functioned in and around them. Sometimes he liked to just toss them in the air or juggle them to see what would happen when they finally fell to the paper. He presented them as gifts to family and friends in stories, poems and haikus. He never took them for granted and knew each one had special significance and power in how it was used.
During his 63 years of life, his brother Greg had two children, Jessica Hoover and Will Hoover, with his late wife Karen. His sister Jenny Ann Barnes also had two children, David Barnes and Laura Fernandez, with her husband Mike Barnes. Laura is now married to Carlos Fernandez and Billy has a grand-nephew, Carlitos ("Litos"), and grand-niece, Ellie Violet. David is now married to Amanda. His mother and father, Bill and Charlene, along with Karen have died. Greg has a new love, Bette Phillips-Hershey. When Billy came to Hondo, it was to live on land owned by Dawn's parents, Jim and Anita Wilks. They have since died, also.
Billy's joy of fun in the sun, feeling the warmth of its rays on his bare chest never left him.  Every sunny day he was able, he was outside greeting the sun and soaking in the rays. His love of photography never diminished but steadily grew to include incredible sunset shots and memorable events, like capturing Halley's Comet with Gregg back in 1986. He loved dogs and had quite a few come into his pack family over the years, mostly Bostons with a few mutts here and there. They are all welcomed and loved immensely. Recently, he was often with his newfound love, Ricki, a small pug who stole his heart in a nanosecond and she claimed him as hers the moment she was placed on his chest at three months old. They have been almost inseparable since 2019.
This is just a snippet of Billy I write using his laptop to share with you, because to tell all the stories would require a book or two and this is just a simple obituary. I don't do obituaries well, especially not Billy's. He has left us all too soon in his quest to find his words again; his stoke stole them from him.
He was a public figure who touched many lives and many hearts. Everyone seems to have a cherished story of Billy. I wish I could hear them all. What I can tell you is: this is not the end of William Hoover the Wordsmith's story but, rather, a new beginning and a new chapter in an exciting adventure for him.
With Love, Peace, Gratitude and Heartache,
~ Dawn
Sharing the Love that is Billy

A memorial service will be planned at a later date.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of William "Billy" Charles Hoover, please visit our flower store.

Funeral Services

Pending

VFW hall

235 PR 4422, Hondo, TX 78861

Guestbook

Send Flowers
Plant a Tree

Visits: 0

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors