Memorial service honors Hoover

When Benjamin Stoviak was a senior in high school, he had to write an essay about his hero…. When Benjamin Stoviak was a senior in high school, he had to write an essay about his hero. There was only one problem with the assignment: He had never had a hero in his life.

Pressed for a subject, Stoviak finally decided to write about ancient Greek poets and described how he admired them for their abilities of persuasion. But his lack of role models ended last semester when he met Karen Hoover.

“I’ve never had a hero, a real person that I could actually talk to,” Stoviak said. “But Karen was that to me.”

Hoover, a grad student in Pitt’s classics department, died earlier this month from health complications. Yesterday, Hoover’s friends and family members spent an hour and a half relating fond memories of her in a memorial service at Heinz Chapel.

Hoover had suffered from health problems for years, Harry Avery, a professor in the classics department, said. But throughout everything, she constantly remained positive and optimistic.

“Karen faced all of these problems with undaunted courage,” Avery said. “She was brave and courageous in the face of almost insurmountable odds.”

In spite of all her worries, Hoover acted as a supportive friend, a nurturing teacher for her students, an advocate of American Indian rights and a caretaker for many different animals.

Avery had also worked with Hoover on her thesis on Aristotle. For years she had made outlines of his chapters and extrapolated on his methods of persuasion. Her writing could have been published years ago, but she had had less time to devote to her work since she taught classes, and her work, although profound, is unfinished.

The last time Avery saw her was on her birthday, Jan. 11, and she was surrounded by her students, who had always remained loyal to her.

“She wasn’t an easy grader,” Avery said. “She expected [her students] to do work. But those who had her learned their stuff, they had been taught and they were willing to learn.”

Not long after, six of Hoover’s current students approached the microphone and took turns speaking about her acts of charity and compassion.

Brenton Hollis, a senior, said that because he had a lot of breaks in his schedule, he used to talk with Hoover between all of his classes.

“It was time extremely well spent,” Hollis said, “and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

One of the reasons why Hollis loved going to Hoover’s classes was because she allowed her students to become closer with her and with each other. Through numerous discussions, both academic and personal, the class was transformed into a family.

“She taught us Greek, she taught us love, she taught us life,” Hollis said.

Padmini Menu remembered Hoover for her vast knowledge and love of learning.

A former student in Pitt’s law school, Menu needed to take a class outside of her department and finally settled on Hoover’s Greek mythology class.

Menu’s father – who had written down Padmini’s middle name, Andromache, on her birth certificate when her mother wasn’t looking – had spent most of his life trying to instill in her a love for the classics, but he only partially succeeded.

This passion and appreciation for the classics strengthened when Menu took Hoover’s class, and in return, Menu inspired Hoover to attend her ancient law classes.

“She loved to learn,” Menu said. “She was always learning, always teaching.”

Liz Conforti, an administrator in the classics department, read a poem that described the interrelations of joy and sorrow.

“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked,” she read.

“She gave me so much joy,” Conforti finished. “And now I feel so much sorrow.”