Bassett Family Association Database

Egerton Jackson Hoover

Male - Abt 1916


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  • Name Egerton Jackson Hoover 
    Gender Male 
    _UID 2A7DAEEB2B3E9B4DA33FC6729700B94D48A1 
    Died Abt 1916 
    Notes 
    • Canadian Census of 1916 Manitoba, Canda
      Egerton Hoover - M - 41 - Ontario
      Olive - F - 37 - Ontario
      Evelyn - F - 10 - Manitoba
      Donne - F - 8 - Manitoba
      Audrey - F - 6 - Manitoba
      Helen - F - 4 - Manitoba
      Hazel - F - 2 - Manitoba
      Jean - F - 10/12 - Manitoba

      Written by Evelyn Green
      Read by Terry Stoddard at the funeral 8 Oct 1987
      Olive Pearl Bassett was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada in 1883, the second of six daughters of Samuel and Evaline Bassett of Toronto.
      As a young woman she found employment in the store of Eaton's, where she met her future husband, Egerton Jackson Hoover. They were married in September 1904 and left at once for Winnipeg, where he had been appointed the catalog manager of the Hudson's Bay Company.
      They made their home in Winnipeg, where their daughters were born. They were faithful members of the Fort Rouge Methodist Church, and brought up their little daughters with loving kindness and a strong emphasis by their example on the Christian virtues of truth, honor and compassion toward others.
      But after twelve years this happy family life was broken by the loss of the young husband who gave his life in an heroic effort to save his office boy from death in a warehouse fire, and Olive was left alone, at the age of 33, with six small daughters, aged from 10 years down to 14 months, and with a very limited amount of insurance money to care for them.
      But she managed for five years all alone to take care of her children. This meant shovelling seven tons of coal into the furnace during the harsh Winnipeg winters, sifting the ashes; washing clothes by hand - there were no washing machines then - hanging them out to freeze on the lines, bringing them in frozen stiff to finish drying indoors; baking bread, and doing all the cooking and canning on the wood and coal range in the kitchen; it meant calling her children from their icy cold bedrooms to dress by the kitchen stove. It also meant reading the Bible to them daily in the family worship period set aside each morning before school.
      Besides all this, she managed to make all their clothes, hats and coats included, often making things over, or altering the sizes to fit the younger members. Christmas and birthday celebrations were always observed, with little money but by many homemade gifts. The girls' lessons were always important, and she helped explain and drill when needed, so her daughters did well in school. But the five years were hard, so finally she listened to her parents' plea to come to California where they had found living conditions to be easier. So in 1921 she moved her children to Los Angeles.
      There she quickly found a new church, the West Adams Methodist Church, where she and her daughters were active members for many years, until the daughters grew up and moved away. She also became a naturalized American citizen.
      She was determined to carry out her late husband's wishes and send all her daughters to college. So she continued keeping house, sewing and cooking for the family, often with no more than a few cents in the house, walking miles to find food bargains in the grocery stores, but never giving up and always making a haven of security for her daughters.
      And she succeeded. All her daughters graduated from Los Angeles High School with honors, and all attended UCLA, five of them graduating with a bachelor's degree, four took post graduate work, and one a PhD degree. She was very proud that one became an elementary teacher, two high school teachers, one a UCLA professor, one a hospital dietition, and one a secretary.
      After 17 years of widowhood, Olive was married again to Dr. Godfrey Ehrlich, a member of the German Department at UCLA. Later she moved with him to Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. There she continued in her self-effacing life of quiet and friendly helpfulness to others until her husband's sudden death in 1945.
      Again she was a widow, so at age 62 she returned to California, determined to devote her life again to her daughters. She became, as she had been a mother, a grandmother, ready to help any grandchild who needed her. Many of them can recall staying weekends, or whole vacations, with her. And one child, who had problems adjusting and couldn't learn in the regular schools, stayed for long periods with her and became a happily conforming person and learned to read from her - to the extent that Olive was even approached by a school official to ask if she would become a teacher of retarded children. She had to decline this honor, but did help some others with learning problems.
      She was always full of fun and ready to play games with her friends and family, and ready to try out any new ideas which presented themselves. She wrote poems for children and for many different occasions, and entered contests, winning many.
      She completed with her own hand labor a small frame cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains and when the altitude proved too much for her heart, she followed her daughter, Doreen Alexander, to Sunny Valley and coverted two half-built shacks into livable vacation cottages, both of which are being used now by her descendants.
      Her permanent home for many years was on the Strand in Manhattan Beach, California. But when old age was approaching she lived for a time in an apartment beside her daughter Jean Dunn's home, and later lived for several years with her widowed daughter Audrey Stoddard. When the latter developed Alzheimer's disease and had to give up her home, Olive came to live with her daughter Hazel Evans, and has been very happy with Hazel and Tom Evans for the past three years, living quietly and smiling happily at any visitor who came to see them.
      A year ago she was honored at the Easter Parade at Wolf Creek.
      On September 12 she fell and broke her hip. She seemed to be recovering well from the operation, and the doctors expected her to walk again, and with her willpower and courage she had a good chance to do so. But on Monday, October 5, after eating her breakfast and chatting and laughing with the nurses, she died.
      She was truly a blessing to all who knew her.
    Person ID I23  232B Francis Bassett of Collingwood, Ontario, Canada
    Last Modified 24 Jul 2012 

    Family Olive Pearl Bassett,   b. 1883, Belleville, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 5 Oct 1987  (Age 104 years) 
    Married Sep 1904 
    Children 
     1. Living
     2. Living
     3. Living
     4. Living
     5. Living
     6. Living
    Family ID F8  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart