Our Dad & PaPa - Raymond Doyal Hoover went to be with The Lord Tuesday night April 23rd.  There's no doubt he had a wonderful reunion with his wife of nearly 65 years, Marianne, whom he longed to see again the last 3+ years, as she proceeded him in 2020.

Dad was born in Haskell, Oklahoma, to Raymond & Ella Hoover on October 21, 1935, and was the oldest of 3 boys.  He spent his early years helping on the farm (his Dad was a sharecropper) and was driving a tractor by the age of 10. By some accounts (his brothers), he also spent time terrorizing them, which he denied.  The family had moved from the Porter area when he was 5 years old to Okay.  Dad was put on a horse bareback by himself & told to stay on the dirt road. His grandpa eventually came by after several hours - by then, he was walking the horse because his legs "were so chapped I couldn't ride any more".

He attended Okay high school where he excelled in academics, athletics, and 4H activities - winning several national awards. His high school basketball coach, though very demanding, "he wouldn't last a week coaching today" inspired him to pursue higher education and he became the first member of his family to earn a college degree as he & Mom worked various jobs to help him achieve his goal.  In time, he earned a Bachelors, Masters, and was only a few hours short of a Doctorate degree. He became a coach himself, but very quickly was asked to become a Superintendent of schools because the board really liked how he handled his team, and at the age of 24 he began serving the district of Boynton in that capacity and did so for 12 years.  Dad & Mom began their family of 3 children, while there at Boynton, and he purchased a few laundromats that he worked in the evenings and weekends.  Although he would leave education for business ventures, he made sure his children earned college degrees and set up a Grandchildren's college education fund so that each of them also had the opportunity to do the same. He operated businesses for the next 52 years & established a very successful career which covered everything from owning restaurants to commercial development, land & cattle operations, residential building, general contracting and investments just to name a few.

His trademark will always be his unmatched work ethic. Dad believed & embodied the idea that you can have anything you want in this life if you're willing to work hard enough for it.  He understood after working for ½ a penny a bale as a kid in the summers to earn money for school clothes that nothing comes easy.  As a result, he wanted to maximize his opportunities and not waste his money foolishly.  In high school summers, several of the boys with a chaperone would "take a train up north" to work the summer in canneries.  Years before there were child labor laws & OSHA, you could work as many hours as possible. One time the boys had a friendly wager to see who could work the most hours in a week………as Dad told the story, we laughed knowing this contest was over before it started.  He worked 160 of 168 hours that week to win the contest.  Dad had an entrepreneurial mind & his head was constantly spinning with new ideas and even though he had some health challenges the last few years, he stayed relatively youthful because of his drive and vigor for the next "project". He loved having new ideas, developing them and working to make them a success.  Even though work was truly his hobby, he never missed one of his kids' games, events or activities and continued that with his grandchildren when possible.  He was truly a fighter and even the day he left this Earth he was asking what he needed to do to get better, because if it was physically possible, he would've done it.

HIs legacy will forever be his faith & family - "The Lord has been so good to me, and we have been so blessed - I'm not afraid…… and when it's my time you tell everyone that I'm not going out a loser, I'm winning, because I know what's waiting on me".  He relayed this statement to many people the last few weeks, it was important for him to convey that message of hope and victory.  His extended church family at First Baptist were a blessing to He & Mom over the years.

We'll miss his smile, laugh, sense of humor and seeing him in his familiar starched jeans & shirt, boots, and fedora hat. He was one of a kind special man that left an indelible print on the community as he & Mom both gave generously of their time and resources.

Dad is survived by his daughters Marsha and Pamela who both followed the education route & became excellent teachers themselves.  His son Larry is involved in business and also serves on the school board.

Doyal's beautiful legacy includes Children and their spouses Marsha & Jeramy Rhoden, Pamela & Shawn Cacy and Larry & Julie Hoover; Grandchildren Lindsay Wilkey (Matt), Aaron DuPriest (Kayla), Dalton Rhoden (Ally), Megan Mayer (Ben), Chad Cacy, Ali Cacy, Abby Holderman (Chase), Hudson Hoover (Kimberly) and Claire Hoover; Great Grandchildren Jackson, Posey, Landri & Elle Wilkey, Keaton, Asher & Holden DuPriest, Stella Rhoden, Lincoln & Emerlyn Mayer, Landon Cacy & Bella Noble and Molly Hoover; Brothers Bob Hoover (Belva) and Otis Hoover (Judy) and a host of other family & friends .

Visitation will be from 4-6pm, Sunday, April 28, 2024, at Traditions Funeral Chapel in Kellyville. Services will be 10am, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at the First Baptist Church in Sapulpa. Arrangements are under the directions of Traditions Funeral and Cremation Services, 35 S. Main, Kellyville, 918-247-7373 .