John Hoad Obituary

Rev. & Mrs. Hoad at the Friendship Methodist Church (Manse) in British Guiana. His wife was pregnant with their son Michael.

John preferred that instead of a memorial service, we create an online memory book, which we've done here on legacy.com. Please feel free to share any thoughts about your experiences with him.

I just received an e-mail notifying me of John's passing. I just want to relay that I have very fond memories of Dr Hoad. He was one of the main reasons my husband and I started attending Emerson Chapel in Wildwood, Missouri (14 years ago). He performed a family blessing/baby naming in our home after our daughter Lydia was born. My husband and I thought his sermons to be incredibly thought provoking, intellectual and transcending w/o going off the deep end. It saddens me to know that there is one less person like him in the world, but gladdens me to know that I was one more person to have experienced him in this world. My thoughts go out to all his family and friends...

To John:
With You A Part of Me

With you a part of me hath passed away;
For in the peopled forest of my mind
A tree made leafless by this wintry wind
Shall never don again its green array.

Chapel and fireside, country road and bay,
Have something of their friendliness resigned;
Another, if I would, I could not find,
And I am grown much older in a day.
But yet I treasure in my memory
Your gift of charity, and young heart's ease,
And the dear honor of your amity;
For these once mine, my life is rich with these.
And I scarce know which part may greater be
What I keep of you, or you rob from me.

By George Santayana

he was a great gentlemanmy he rest in peacewas at his first sermmond at christ church barbados

What wonderful pictures. Although there are few, they seem so representational of a life filled with values, love and joy.

I was very sad indeed to learn of John's passing. John Hoad was certainly one of the most memorable and inspirational people I have known. Our family joined the Ethical Society of St. Louis during the first year of John's tenure and John was certainly one of the major reasons. John's platform addresses were amazing -- with just the right amount of fact, reflection, and wonderful anecdotes to illustrate his points. He always took me to new places in my thinking.

We certainly missed John and Karen when they moved to Charleston and always looked forward to hearing from them at the new year.

I remember John talking about the importance of staying on the "growing edge". That is something he did very well.

So many images jostling for a place here! The colours and noises of the Guyanese jungle accompany my most vivid memories of Uncle John - weeks spent together at an impressionable age where the world seemed to change radically every day and life unfolded in slow motion. I can still hear his voice, slow and measured, yet with that special quality that made you not want to miss a word. He had an amazingly analytical mind and a way of bringing perspective to problems. I can see those soul-seeking eyes persuading me to think before talking and remember those techniques he used to memorize what seemed like pages. Like those tenacious copper beech leaves in spring, fighting a losing battle against renewal, he kept his colour and vibrancy to the end. An inspiration!

I was saddened to hear of John's passing. Though we hadn't had much contact in recent years, he leaves a lasting impression. John had a capacious mind, was extraordinary learned and was relentlessly curious. He was also helpful when help was needed. He will not be forgotten.

The all too short visit I had with Uncle John and Karen, in April, holds a special place in my 'shoebox' of precious memories. Such a bright mind and a wonderful person who touched so many. At 83, still clearly very much in love with his wife, his family and indeed, life itself. A wonderful inspiration to us all!

hard to condense a lifetime of memories into one statement with two lives lived thousands of miles apart but in addition to being something of a 'guiding light' as we grew up cousin John was able to carve his name indelibly in our "Hoad" family history. May God rest his soul.

"Sister Margaret, be your creative self, do the creative thing, for God is your creator" John said these words to me at our first meeting. For the first decade of my life I never knew John. I'd heard about him, knew he was my brother, but had never laid eyes on him. Then John, his wife and children came to Barbados to visit and I finally met him. I was not fortunate to spend alot of time with John, as he lived far away and I only saw him on the occasional holiday. None the less I found John to be a brillant and wonderful man, inspiring, gentle, caring, patient and helpful. The precious moments I spent with John and his family have been some of the most pleasant and memorable moments in my life. John we love you and you will always be in our hearts and our thoughts. Jan, Louise, Adam and myself extend our sympathies to Karen, Michael, Paul, Barbara and the rest of the Hoad family.

He was half of my life, and all of my heart.

John was truly an inspirational force at First UU in Alton for many years. I fondly remember his powerful presence in the pulpit ... he will be missed.

I was saddened to learn of John's death. John served as part-time minister at the First Unitarian Church in Alton IL during the mid 1990s. We always were enlightened by his sermons and felt cared for by his pastoral concern. He and I shared a bond in our interest in the study of word usage,and we still have one of the hymns he wrote in our choir folders.

I'm sad to hear of John's passing, but he had a great run. My condolences to Michael and to Karin.

John Hoad was Leader at the St. Louis Ethical Society during the early years of my decades old membership. His talks were inspirational; I still remember some of them to this day! His stories, told with just the right pacing and wonderful accent, were fabulous. I remember being very emotional when John spoke. He always seemed to be talking just to me even when there was a crowd of 400 in the audience!

John and I both loved poetry. In fact, I was flattered that he managed to weave a couple of my poems into a couple of his presentations at the Society. That renewed my confidence in my writing.

John, through his presentations at the Ethical Society, helped me be a single parent to my 3 children, thus I will always have a warm remembrance of him and the ES.

I have often thought of John during these subsequent years. His service to Ethical Culture was stellar, his mind bright and his friendship constant. He is remembered and missed by many.

When I came into the ethical movement in 1986 John was especially welcoming and helpful to me as a new Leader. He always contributed mightily, with passion, research and thoroughness to all the Leader discussions and decisions. He was an irreplaceable gift to many who were fortunate enough to know him.

John was a gentleman graced with a poets heart and a capacity to love all he met.

I fondly remember John's talks to the Ethical Society in St. Louis. He was a true humanist, a great thinker, and a really warm and kind person. I'm sure he will be missed by many.

What is the right thing to say to the grieving, saying sorry for your loss just seems so empty. Mom & I often talk about what he said at Robert's 'namimg' at the Ethical Society. John's father had recently passed, and he mentioned how when one passes another is born. So somewhere in the world with his passing came the joy of a newborn. Let him rest in peace, and to you Karen and family keep the faith. (Jan's daughter)

As the Methodist Minister at the Chapel of the University of the West Indies during my time there ('64-'70) his sermons were very easily understood. Quietly spoken, pleasant and progressive by any standard, he was an outstanding West Indian and very unusual Barbadian of his apparent ethnicity. Just read about his passing in his brother's Barbados Nation's column. (F.E. Blackman, FL)

Dr. John Hoad's platform addresses, delivered at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, were memorable. His broad education and sympathy for people were always on display.

Karen, I was so sorry to hear about your John. I lost my John on May 21, so I know the sadness you're feeling. Everyone tells me it will get better, and I'm sure it will, but I think it will definitely take time. I know I haven't seen you in quite a while, but I think of you often, and I will surely keep you in my prayers now.