Father Rolland W. Hoverstock

Rolland William Hoverstock of Boulder died October 1, 2015 at TRU Hospice after an intense struggle with cancer. He was born on September 12, 1942 in Buffalo, New York, to Gerald M. and Margueritte Morr Hoverstock. He became an Eagle Scout at age 14. A graduate of Williamsville (New York) High School in 1960, he travelled west to attend the University of Colorado in Boulder. In 1965, he was among the first to join JFK’s VISTA volunteer program, a new national service corps addressing poverty throughout the U.S. He served in Clearwater, Florida until 1966 when he returned to Colorado and began work in equipment sales for King and East Machinery of Denver. His job included travel throughout Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana ranch country, selling haying equipment, and he developed an abiding admiration for cattle ranchers and the rural Western way of life. In 1967 he married Beatrice Black in Denver and moved back to the Boulder area, where all three of their children were born, and where in 1970, he joined as a partner/owner in The Spoke bicycle shop on the Hill. Over the following 20 years, Boulder became the center of the bicycling boom in the U.S. and the Spoke was a key component in the movement, introducing technically advanced European bicycles to the American market as well as the sport of bicycle racing which caught on quickly and lastingly in Boulder. While starting his career at The Spoke, Rol earned his B.A. degree at CU in 1970. During his years as a businessman, Rol joined the Episcopal Church and increasingly felt called to be a priest. Inspired and mentored by Father Jim McKeown at St. John’s Church in Boulder, Rol spent ten years studying for the priesthood at local seminary programs and a year at the University of the South’s School of Theology in Sewanee, Tennessee. He was ordained at St. John’s, Boulder, in 1983 and began a four year, part-time ministry in a small congregation in Lyons, Colorado, while continuing his work at The Spoke. A call to full-time ministry became increasingly apparent to him, and in 1987 he sold The Spoke and became the Rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where the family lived until 1991. When Father McKeown retired from St. John’s, Boulder, Rol was chosen to succeed him as Rector there, and he relocated his family to their beloved Boulder. He remained at St. John’s until his retirement in 2011. During those 20 years, Father Rol oversaw St. John’s 100th Anniversary capital campaign, which resulted in a major restoration and expansion on the church campus. He continued and encouraged the congregation’s long tradition of inclusiveness, working toward same-sex marriage in the church, serving the homeless, and building an open and affirming congregation. He was a supporter and advocate of Boulder’s downtown community, particularly the YWCA. Rol was easy to spot at parties in a bow tie, or walking downtown in loafers with no socks on the way to get coffee. In retirement, Rol and Bea devoted several happy years to grand-parenting, and to coordinating the renovation and restoration of a family ranch in Tabernash, which remains a cherished family vacation spot. Rol loved hard work, children, roses, bicycles, baseball, CU sports, the Arizona desert, good wine, being pastor and friend to his parishioners and staff, cross-country skiing, his many and varied friends outside the church community, horses and riding, western art, and staying fit. But most of all, he loved his family. He is survived by his wife Bea, two daughters, Molly Hoverstock (Steve Gabbard) of Boulder, and Abby Hoverstock (Peter Smith) of Denver, son Joe Hoverstock (Sara Hoverstock) of Boulder, and five grandchildren: Owen Smith (13), Laurel Gabbard (11), Silas Smith (9), Arthur Hoverstock (8), and Quinton Hoverstock (5). He is also survived by his brother Richard Hoverstock of North Carolina, three nieces, and several cousins. A memorial service in celebration of Father Rol’s life will be held Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 3:00 P.M. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1419 Pine St. Boulder, CO 80302. A reception will be held at the church following the service. Contributions; St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1419 Pine St, Boulder, CO 80302; Colorado Haiti Project, 908 Main St. #245, Louisville, CO 80027; YWCA of Boulder County, 2222 14th St., Boulder, CO 80302; Middle Park Land Trust, 52 N. 1st St., Granby, CO 80446