Herbert Hoover Hart Obituary (2023)

Herbert Hoover Hart passed away unexpectedly on October 12, 2023, just a few weeks shy of his 95th birthday. Herb was born in Sacramento, California, on November 6, 1928. He was a healthy hearing child born to a deaf mother and unknown father. His first language was American Sign Language. In the fourth grade, he and his half-sisters were placed in a home in Eugene, Oregon, called the Alice Marie Childrens Home. There, he met Myrtle Croy, who became his surrogate mother and would take care of him and guide him as he grew older. He graduated from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon and majored in food technology. In 1953, he was serving in the Army as a Corporal in Germany. While stationed there, he met his first wife, Inge. They had three daughters and a son, Ingrid, Rose, Sue, and Norm. In 1965, Herb moved to Yakima, Washington. He worked at Snokist Cannery as a Chemist. He designed the aerobic treatment of wastewater that became a model for food processors around the world. Herb was very proud to say he had journals written about him in many different languages. Later in life, he met his life partner, Suzanne Richings. They enjoyed traveling and dinners at Olive Garden and Red Robin. Herb was heavily involved in mens slow pitch softball. His team was called Herbies Hornets. He loved being the oldest guy out there and recruiting "ringers," as he called them. These were the guys who could hit home runs on his team! He was a legend in the baseball community and well known throughout the valley. He was still playing at 93 years old. Herb was 94 and proud to have such a large family tree. While Herb grew up in a group home, he spent a lot of his life trying to find out his family history. Herbert was guided by his religious faith and followed his devotion through his life. He wrote about this and his search for answers to his questions in his life story, Triumph Beyond Silence. He recently joined My Heritage and was able to locate several cousins, who helped him connect more of the dots. In September, he was able to meet his cousins, Rosalie, Andy, and Stephen, in person for the first time. What a special day it was for all of them! It was the first time Herb had met any of his relatives. He will be greatly missed for his resilience, determination, and contagious laugh. Herb is survived by his first wife, Inge, his children, Norm (Kim) Hart, Ingrid (Orlando) Elenzano, Rose (Dave) Stone, and Sue (Charles) Fesler, his grandchildren, Tracy (Alex) Murillo, Andrew (Marcie) Stone, Alex (Richelle) Elenzano, Jennifer Stone, Willie Hart, Nick Stone, Jessica Hart, Matt Stone, Shauna Fesler, great-grandchildren, Kira (Ben) Gauthier, Marco Murillo, Jami Murillo, Lucy Murillo, Austin Elenzano, Tony Elenzano, Tyler Stone, Brandon Stone, Emerson White, his nephews, Steven and Robert Love, nieces, Debra Raake and Denise Williams, and his faithful cat, Kitty. He is preceded in death by his parents, his half-sisters, Bette and Florence, his half-brother, William and his life partner, Suzanne. A Memorial Service will be held on Monday, November 6, 2023, at 11:00am, at Brookside Funeral Home (500 Prospect Pl., Moxee, WA 98936). Brookside Funeral Home is caring for the family. Memories and condolences may be shared at www.brooksidefuneral.com SERVICES Funeral Service Monday, November 06, 2023 11:00 AM Brookside Funeral Home 500 W. Prospect Rd Moxee, WA 98936 Monday, November 06, 2023 Terrace Heights Memorial Park 3001 Terrace Heights Drive Yakima, WA 98901