Long before I came into this world, there was this handsome fellow who had fallen in love with this young lady.  After much time had elapsed, they married in January 1913.  By the end of this year, they had a daughter, Donna, who was born on December 30, 1913. After Donna was born, their family grew by leaps and bounds until it reached a total of ten children with eight of these being female and two being male.

All of their children thrived with the exception of one little girl, Mary Jane, who died at the tender age of 2-1/2 from double pneumonia.  This loss was a terrible pill for this lovely couple to swallow but in time, they were able to deal with her loss.

The children's parents worked long and hard to provide for their offspring especially during the Great Depression when employment was very difficult to find.  They owned some chickens, hogs and a cow plus nine hives of bees.  To supplement their food intake, the man of the house raised a huge garden which the Mother prepared for their upcoming winter.  The older children picked berries and fruits for  preservation.  As the years sped along, the older siblings left the nest for one reason or another; new jobs or marriage.

During WW2, their younger son of the two fought in the war in North Africa and Italy in the Army.  He finally made it back home but had to go through quite an adjustment to being a civilian. 

During the forties, the Mother's vision started failing and during this time, the Father was killed when he was crushed between the cars of a railroad train while he was working for the railroad.  It was a tough time for the family but with their faith in God that had always sustained them, they finally made it through this misery.

The Mother kept the home fires burning with the assistance of her special needs daughter, Lorene but 27 yrs after her husband's passing, God called her home, too.  Over the years, four more of their children followed to the throne of grace.

On June 25, 2005, the remaining siblings celebrated the lives of this lovely couple, my parents, Ollie and Josephine Hoop with a reunion of their descendants.  This reunion was held at Longs retreat in Latham, Ohio www.longsretreat.com with forty family and friends in attendance.  I have written a poem in honor of my parents which I wrote for this occasion which I would like to share with you.

Our Dedication ~ Honoring Ollie and Josephine Hoop

She was a pretty young lass,
He was a strong handsome lad,
She was his dream come true,
He was her knight in shining armor ...


In January, 1913, they were joined in Holy
Matrimony. In December,
1913, they were blessed with a daughter. Over the
years their family
grew, keeping them busy as bees, caring for their
brood.


In time to come, they faced the Great Depression
but with mutual
concerns and faith above all, they endured life and
prospered as they
saw wars come and be settled and saw their son,
Paul, return home safely
from WW2.


In this life, we all face difficulties; losing
those we love to a fairer
land than we know here ....... Giving up to the
Lord, the children we
have reared, from a little 2 year old, Mary Jane to some as
adults, Dona, Doris, Glenn, and Anna Marie.


Eventually, the sweet lovely lady lost her vision.
In 1949, while
coping with this loss, she lost her knight. In
the face of such
adversity, our strong lady kept the home fires
burning with the aid of
our special sister, Lorene.


In 1976, our sweet lady joined her knight and her
departed offsprings in
Heaven. She is missed so much as was her loving
knight but we carry on
as they would wish their heirs to do.


Let us, today, fondly remember the love of
this great couple and
our siblings who have been responsible for this
great Homecoming of all
their descendants: Maxine Brown, Lorene Hoop,

Paul Hoop, Charlene Ison and Norma Liles..

Norma Lee (Hoop) Liles ?©