Dennis John Hoover

Dennis Hoover, father of three, grandfather of three, husband, beloved son, distinguished lawyer, long-time youth soccer coach, and friend, colleague and associate to many, passed away Friday, October 22, 2021, at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Family was the center of his world. He was a loving and adoring husband of 43 years to college sweetheart Debra Hoover (nee Vickrey). He will also be dearly missed by his children, Nick (and wife Katherine), Ashley, and Tori (and fiance Ian Round), as well as his grandchildren, Nick and Katherine’s children Xavier, Catalina, and Alexander, and many cousins. Born to the late Rodney and Joann Hoover at what is now Camp Lejeune, North Carolina on July 5, 1954, he graduated Woodlawn High School with four varsity letters (including a third place finish in the state high jump) in 1972, received his Bachelor of Arts Degree with honors Phi Beta Kappa from Randolph-Macon College in 1976, and earned his law degree from the University of Maryland in 1979. While at RMC, he was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity and the soccer team, where he (alongside multiple high school companions who also attended RMC) made more lifelong friends. Dennis was proud of his long tenure as soccer player and coach. In 2020, he was selected to the 1970’s All-Decade 2nd Team at RMC, an honor that surprised and delighted him. Full of grit, he never returned from a college or men’s league game without some sort of scrape or cut. He coached all three of his children and their peers, playing mentor to many, and was never happier than when he was running up and down the sidelines, whistle bumping against his chest. Dennis was a proud Baltimorean and Carroll County resident, and a season ticket holder for the Orioles, the Ravens, and the Hippodrome. He pronounced Tuesday “Tewsdee.” He loved cherry cobbler, cocker spaniels, and a cold glass of Jameson Irish Whiskey. His parents were schoolteachers who instilled in him a lifelong hunger for knowledge and love of travel. He traveled the country and the world, regaling his wife and children about history everywhere they went. Dennis was a voracious reader, lover of westerns, and fan of Sirius XM’s old-time radio channel. Dennis was a real estate and business lawyer and the managing partner at Rosen Hoover Sykes Brown P.A., where he worked for his entire career. He served as trusted counsel to many local, regional, and national developers, builders, and other businesses, specializing in commercial and residential development, and numerous financial institutions in real estate financing matters. Honest and exacting in his work, among the aspects of his job that brought him joy were drafting, editing, and helping clients assemble the puzzle of a complicated transaction. He cared deeply for his partners, colleagues, and staff. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of Carroll Community College, attorney of more than 35 years for the Town of Sykesville, where he played an important role in the small town’s renaissance, and the legal representative for St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, where he was a long-time member and liturgist. He believed speakerphone required you to yell to be heard. He believed in finishing what you started, including every book he ever read (save a few clunkers). Sympathies may be expressed in the form of contributions in his name to The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1800 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD 21287. Services and interment will be private, but the family would be immensely grateful to read any and all fond remembrances, which can be submitted via the online condolence board at www.jnzumbrunfuneralhome.com.

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