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Mark Hoover
MIDDLETON – Mark Swegman Hoover, 74, of Middleton, passed away on April 7, 2017, after a long battle with depression. A service for friends and family will be held at the FIRST UNITARIAN SOCIETY, 900 University Bay Drive, Madison, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, 2017. A visitation will be held an hour prior, at 10 a.m.
Mark was born in Madison, Wis., on Oct. 23, 1942, to Eugenie and Kenneth Hoover. He graduated from Wisconsin High School in 1960 and married his high school sweetheart, Kathleen Allegar, on Aug. 11, 1962. Mark graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business and worked for the State of Wisconsin for 34 years. Mark and Kathleen then moved from Madison to New York City to continue their work together in the nonprofit sector, government, and international consulting before returning to the Madison area in 2011. Mark was dedicated to public service, public policy reform, and social justice.
A lifelong learner, Mark was widely-read and traveled the world. He took pride in his Native American heritage as a member of the Kansas-Delaware Tribe. His extensive interests included painting, singing in the church choir, and attending classical music concerts. He was also an enthusiastic Packers and Badgers fan, as well as an avid supporter of the women’s volleyball and hockey programs.
He and Kathleen embraced an active lifestyle that included participation in triathlons in their younger years and, more recently, long walks in the Arboretum and local nature conservancies. They also loved cooking vegetarian meals together for family and friends.
Mark was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen Hoover; son, Daniel Hoover (Aeron Adams); daughter, Shannon McCoven (Patti McCoven); grandchildren, Bailey, Brianna, and Madeline; and brother, Paul Hoover.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorials be made to the Dane County Humane Society or Wisconsin Public Radio.
Kathleen and I remember a giant snowstorm. My old Plymouth convertible was buried in the middle of University Avenue in front of the school. Mr. Goldgruber allowed us and others to skip school to dig it out. It was quite a lark.
Wisconsin High School
55th Reunion – July 24 – 25, 2015
BIO: Kathleen Allegar Hoover & Mark Hoover
Received: July 5, 2015
Mark retired after working 34 years in governmental executive positions for the State of Wisconsin in human services. Mark and Kathleen then moved from Madison to NYC when Mark was offered a job as chief executive officer of the Human Service Agency under Mayor Giuliani. The agency has over 16,000 employees, 3.5 million clients, and a budget of over $1.5 billion a year. (Each of the five boroughs in NYC is a county. The city has almost 9 million people)
In addition, Mark was asked by a prominent family in NYC/NJ to establish and operate a foundation as the executive director. The foundation provided $12 – $15 million of grants to improve the lives of lower income families and children and improve the performance of the nonprofit agencies that served them.
Kathleen left her job of 17 years as a first grade teacher in the Stoughton School System to take the job of education director for the kids in group homes in NYC. Later she taught teachers under the Superintendent of Schools in the South Bronx and then worked for the foundation in various capacities.
We lived in a wonderful condo on the East River with all of Manhattan splashed out of our
front window in a 44 story high rise with 1,000 people and as many dogs and a public school within the building. We loved living in NYC with all it has to offer. We were residential tourists.
After the Mayor moved on, Mark established an international consulting firm that worked in Israel for six years with Netanyahu and Omert on successfully implementing Wisconsin’s W-2 welfare reform program. In addition, Mark and Kathleen consulted in labor welfare reform in Denmark over four years, Jamaica through the World Bank Project and work engagements in states, cities throughout the US and with federal government.
We are now living in Middleton Hills with our Maine Coon cat, Bob, and little tabby, Phoebe. (Bob is actually a little person in a cat suit.) Mark has established a foundation of his own working on behalf of formerly incarcerated people and created and trained a volunteer system of over 50 people to assist in getting folks on health insurance and other public benefits. In addition, the foundation works on environmental issues and income inequality. He established several S Corporations and a property management company that purchases properties lending itself to property development. He set up a wealth management firm in a large part to fund the foundation’s work. Our son, Dan, has joined us in these endeavors. Both Mark and Dan really wanted to be architects.
Last year a foreign exchange student from Spain stayed with us. Her family invited us to visit so we going and taking our granddaughter, a junior at UW Green Bay, who is majoring in Spanish and business. What luck, yes?
We look forward to seeing you all.
Mark and Kathleen