James Leon Hoban, Jr.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, on July 27, 1943, James Leon Hoban, Jr., died on October 22, 2024, in Lynchburg General Hospital. He was the son of the late Beatrice Guthrie Hoban and James L. Hoban, Sr., both of them eventually residents of Westminster Canterbury, as Jim and I have been since 2016.

For the last seven years, Jim had struggled bravely and often successfully with several serious after effects of cancer treatments he had received in 2007. Those treatments gave him over ten wonderful years, and the after effects took us by surprise . What finally took him from us so suddenly remains another surprise, but his death was mercifully peaceful, with many thanks to the staff of Lynchburg General’s Critical Care Unit and to Dr. Samuel Dadzie, for his efforts to save Jim and his kind attention to both Jim and me. 

Jim was a modest man, who was appalled by bragging. But in his absence, I can brag about his talents and accomplishments. His undergraduate and Masters degrees were from the University of Virginia, and his PhD, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where we both made lifelong friends. His accomplishments were exemplified in his teaching career of close to forty years. His last twenty-two were happily spent at Randolph-Macon Woman's College, where he successfully established a Communications major, won the Gillie A. Larew teaching prize, and received a Thoresen chaired professorship. Having taught at large universities--the University of New Mexico and the University of Virginia--he was delighted at the opportunities the small college gave him to develop courses and mentor students. And his research furthered his love for travel: He presented papers in numerous locations around the world, including Rio de Janeiro, Nagasaki, and Warsaw. In the late 1990s, he was honored to receive a Fulbright, studying the German film industry.

In addition to his academic career, he was involved in the community. He served on the boards of the Adult Care Center, including a term as Chair. He was also on the board of Lyn-Cag. For many years, he was a Eucharistic Minister with Holy Cross Catholic Church. He visited elderly and sick parishioners, who became his friends and the subjects of portraits beautifully done. And he also served in the food pantry, on the finance committee, and as church librarian.

In 2004, following his retirement, he continued with his volunteer work but began pursuing his interest in art, which intertwined with his love of travel. He took many classes from excellent teachers here and in North Carolina. The results were often extraordinary and exemplified every medium: watercolor, oil, pastel, acrylic, pen and ink, and something stunning involving cold wax. Our extensive travels inspired him, particularly five trips to India between 2011 and 2015. Those resulted in large watercolors and oils, as well as in smaller sketches and watercolors out of which he made cards to give to friends. He could stand in the middle of a crowd and paint or draw on the spot. 

While the India adventures were a happy inspiration, so were other travels: Mali (Timbuktu!), Morocco, Algeria, Prague, Paris, Spain. And during the time of the India trips and after, we also traveled four times with groups from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The first focused on Picasso, followed by El Greco, Leonardo, and finally, the Old Masters in Belgium and Holland in 2022. But our home in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on the water, and many, many people and places in Charlottesville and right here in Lynchburg were also his subjects. We traveled at least twice a year to New York for plays and museums and friends, but he must have been too busy enjoying it all to draw or paint. Jim's last large oil painting was of the Sea Cloud, a yacht on which we were privileged to sail in the Caribbean in January of 2020, just before the beginning of the pandemic. It was yet another wonderful trip, with new friends who shared with us common interests. Three were artists, with whom Jim loved to sketch and paint. That love of travel began in the 1950s, when Jim’s father, an architect, was involved in building hotels in Germany. The family lived in Wiesbaden for over two years, and when work permitted, traveled widely in Europe. 

The family's home base was Alexandria, Virginia, as Jim's father continued to work for the government, the FAA, involved in projects like Idlewild (later JFK) airport and the interior space of Dulles. Jim attended Hammond High School, where he was a star of the Chess Club! (I hope he doesn't see that.) He is survived by Mary Saunders Hoban, his wife of fifty-two years; and by numerous first cousins and their families, who are scattered along the Eastern seaboard region, from North Carolina to New York, with some in California. The Hoban family base was Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where some of the cousins remain. For our many good friends here in Lynchburg and North Carolina and California; for Jim’s family and mine who knew and loved him, heartfelt thanks. And to Alonza Poe, a special friend and helper for over forty years here in Lynchburg: many, many thanks. Much gratitude to the staffs of Hearthside Rehab and Drinkard Health Care who have given loving care to Jim and me for the past two years, enabling him to stay as active as possible until a few days before his death. Please know who you are and how grateful we have been.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Public Television, VPM or BlueRidge, the Lynchburg Humane Society, or the Westminster Canterbury Lynchburg Employee Assistance or Education Fund.

A Celebration of James Hoban's Life will be held in the Weissert Chapel of Westminster Canterbury on Saturday, November 16, at 11 am. A reception and luncheon buffet will follow, in the Dogwood Dining Room, beginning at noon.

Tharp Funeral Home, Lynchburg, is assisting the family.