Hoefer was born in Mt. Sterling, Ky., the daughter of Harold Vice, a tool maker, who is now deceased and Hazel, his English war bride. When Hoefer was three years old, the family moved to a house in the Oregon District of Dayton for two years before moving to Kettering.
“When I was growing up, it was really multicultural in our home,” said Hoefer, whose brother, Marvin, was in the first graduating class of Fairmont East High School and currently lives in Virginia, while her sister, Tia McGee, still lives in Kettering. “My grandmother would send us boxes from England with English comic books and books. I was a good student, but I remember getting the word ‘color’ wrong on a spelling test, because I spelled it the English way, ‘colour.’”
Hoefer’s mother, who lives in Vandalia, cooked typical British dishes for the family like bangers and mash, steak and kidney pies and later steak and potato pies when the children complained about eating kidneys.
“I grew up eating scones with butter, clotted cream and jam and drinking tea the English way with cream and sugar,” said Hoefer, who played piano accompaniment for the Fairmont East choir and was active in the National Honor Society before graduating in 1968. “My Mom makes mince meat pies and scones for fundraisers at Christ Church in Dayton.”
Hoefer attended Wright State University, where she studied history before marrying Mike Hoefer, a University of Dayton classmate of her brother, who grew up in Cleveland and was studying accounting. The couple moved to Kettering and Mike Hoefer accepted a job with Morgan Stanley in Dayton.
Meanwhile, Sharon Hoefer worked for Dayton until 1975, when she decided to stay at home with her two daughters. In 1985, the Hoefers moved to Centerville where their daughters graduated from Centerville High School.
Tanya Hoefer Munn, a sales assistant for Smith Barney, graduated in 1991 and lives in Washington Twp. with her husband and high school sweetheart, Jeff Munn, who owns a power washing business, with their three children, Kyle, 12, Megan, 9 and Luke, 6, who was born on Sept. 11, 2002.
“After Luke was born, we were at the hospital trying to get information about our new grandchild and they were having a moment of silence for the victims of 9/11,” Hoefer said. “I guess he has a memorable birthday.”
Hoefer’s younger daughter, Tiffany, a delivery nurse at Southview Hospital, lives in Centerville with her husband and high school sweetheart, Paul Miller, a photographer. The couple has three children, Emma, 6, Natalie, 3, and Kate, 7 months. In addition to volunteering at the Centerville City Schools, Hoefer also volunteered with the Herbs group at the Cox Arboretum.
Contact this reporter at (937) 432-9054 or jjbaer@aol.com.
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