Local Veteran Celebrating 100 Years

Published 9:23 am Tuesday, November 10, 2026

By Aidan Mauck

Lu Hoover, World War II veteran and longtime community member will turn 100 years old on Friday, November 13.

He was born south of Dallas County, his father was an engineer at the shell pipeline station in the area.

Hoover originally got a deferment from the military and went to Southwest Baptist University in 1945. It was there he met his wife, Jean Hoover. He later went to boot camp in San Diego in 1946, where his commanding officers noticed his intelligence and typing skills during his aptitude test. He was put in charge of the personnel office in Norfolk taking inventory and keeping track of papers and supplies.

Although he was moved from battle, Hoover placed second in the shooting assessment at the Navy rifle camp.

Hoover completed his serving years and came back to finish his schooling at Missouri State and quickly got married to Jean in 1947 in Marshfield. They were married for 72 years before Jean passed away in 2019, and they had two children together, James Maurice Hoover and Debbie Hoover.

Hoover said he always wanted to be in the car business growing up, and he fulfilled his dreams when he got back to Missouri. He started his career at General Motors in Springfield and worked there for 20 years. Then, he moved to Bolivar and bought a Ford dealership, called Hoover-Raines Ford in the 1970s.

This was the start of a busy life for Hoover. He wore many hats, including working for Teters Floral, selling real estate, and raising angus cattle.

Hoover has a large family around him with packed houses for Thanksgiving. He has two grandsons, nine great-grandchildren, and one great great-grandaughter. According to his daughter Debbie, his secret for his long life has been a steady diet of chocolate, cheetos, and diet coke.

His family will be hosting a birthday party for him the day after his birthday, celebrating the monumental achievement of being 100 years old.