FUNERAL services were held Nov. 13 at the Evangelical Free Church for Art Hoving who passed away Nov. 8.
One of Thornhill’s early fire chiefs, Hoving was chair of the Thornhill Advisory Planning Commission at the time of his passing.
Hoving joined the Thornhill Volunteer Fire Department in 1976 shortly after it was formed and became its chief in 1984.
He retired as chief in 1995 and left the department in 1997.
Current Thornhill fire chief Wes Patterson said Hoving was deputy chief when Patterson joined the department in 1983.
“He was very knowledgeable, a great chief,” said Patterson, adding he learned a lot from Hoving.
“He always looked after the crews and was always very active with the department.”
“He was fairly quiet and soft spoken but you never wanted to get him mad,” said Patterson.
Hoving was dedicated to his job to the point where he spent one wedding anniversary with his wife in the tanker truck while doing a controlled burn with forestry, said Patterson.
His wife Billie supported him 100 per cent and they were a team, added Patterson.
But Hoving did get away from the job to enjoy fishing and spending time with his family, he said.
Hoving was involved with the Gideons, the association best known for placing Bibles in hotel and motel rooms, and the Rough Acres Bible Camp that’s part of the Evangelical Free Church here that he attended.
“He was a great friend and a great mentor,” said Patterson.
Current regional district Thornhill director Ted Ramsey knew Hoving for quite a while, starting when both were involved with the fire department.
“He was my fire chief back in the days when Thornhill was very, very busy,” said Ramsey.
“He was an excellent chief to work under.”
Ramsey was the fire captain, who went into a burning building and Hoving was the person who looked after him, he said.
“I always felt comfortable with him. He looked after his crew well,” Ramsey added.
Ramsey also spent the last six years working on the Thornhill Advisory Planning Commission with Hoving.
“He was always working on something. He was very giving with his time,” said Ramsey.
“I thought he was a fair, honest guy and a good guy to work with.”
