Hoover Memorial Park set for June 1 opening

While the tragic death of a 1970 North Hills High School graduate still pains her family, friends and neighbors, they have been working hard to make sure her kindness and generosity are properly memorialized.

Work on the Ann Alison Hoover Memorial Park is moving ahead — with the help of township officials, state grant money and about 1,800 hours of volunteer work — and it should be ready for a June 1 opening.

It would have been Ann Alison Hoover's 50th birthday.

"It will be a bittersweet day," said her mother, Margaret Hoover of Ross Township. "There will be a lot of sadness … yet a lot of joy."

Hoover was killed in Oakland in 1997 by Roy Kirk, who owned the house adjoining hers. Hoover had been involved in a dispute with Kirk because his leaking roof had damaged her house.

Kirk tunneled into Hoover's basement and dragged her onto his property, where he killed her. He later hung himself while being transported in a police van.

Hoover — who was a piano teacher, worked for an outreach center and raised money for the arts and nonprofit groups — is remembered for her devotion to others.

She was also once the baby-sitter of Marianne Anderson.

Marianne and her husband, Thomas, donated the 5 acres at the intersection of Jefferson Drive and Country Lane to the township for the park.

"She was just one of those people that sparkled," Marianne Anderson said. "She wanted the best for everyone she knew.

"We wanted something to dedicate to her memory, and we felt that a park would be more of a celebration of her life than a memorial to her death."

Yvonne Brandon, who is spearheading the park project for the North Hills Estates Civic Association, said Hoover's untimely death and the memorial park project have further united a neighborhood that has always been close.

"It has brought out the best in people," she said. "They have taken a tragic situation and tried to bring out something good that celebrates her life."

The park has been created through a public and private cooperative effort.

Ross Township assumed ownership of and responsibility for the land, its public works crews helped in construction and Ross Township Commissioner Daniel Kinross allocated discretionary funds for the project.

State Rep. David Mayernik, a Ross Township Democrat, helped secure almost $50,000 in state grants, and the North Hills Estates Civic Association has organized fund-raising efforts and coordinated volunteer work.

About $25,000 was raised through the sale of engraved bricks, and another brick sale is in the works.

The bricks will be laid beneath the gazebo.

Already, a walking path and the gazebo have been constructed, and trees and shrubs have been planted.

A pair of recently received $10,000 grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources are being used for an iron fence, a sound system for the gazebo and plantings of trees and shrubs.

A 6-foot granite fountain also will be added, and a nature trail eventually will wind through the ravine portion of the park.

Neighborhood residents have provided valuable expertise — with engineer Rob Butorac overseeing construction and landscape architect Larry Ridenour acting as chief designer.

Ridenour said the design makes the most of limited park space in a residential neighborhood by orienting the gazebo and benches to look toward the wooded ravine and by planting trees between the walking path and the road.

Kinross said some problems with the gazebo — a leaky roof and cracked concrete pad — will be fixed by the contractor in time for the opening.

The June 1 ceremony will include performances by the North Hills High School Band and a local string ensemble.

A time capsule containing objects related to Hoover's life, the North Hills Estates neighborhood and Ross Township will be buried, with plans to unearth it in 50 years.

Brandon said the park, once completed, will serve as the focal point of the dozen or so neighborhood events — like the Easter egg hunt and Halloween parade — that take place each year.

Kinross said that, even though the park is incomplete, it is becoming a gathering place for neighborhood residents.

"It's nice to see it already being used even in the state that it's in," he said.

Margaret Hoover said the park project has been a rewarding one.

"I just feel privileged to have had a daughter that could inspire such love and generosity as the Andersons and the community have demonstrated," she said.

For information about purchasing an engraved brick for the Ann Alison Hoover Memorial Park, call Karen Barto at (412) 367-3385.