A 1958 graduate of Minneapolis High School, he served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1960 to 1966 and graduated from Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri in 1962.

In 1961, he married Connie Smith and he was employed at the Bendix Corporation in Kansas City. The family moved to Minneapolis after purchasing the Gambles store which Bernie owned from 1967 to 1977. He designed and built the Rock City Motel in 1979, operating it until 1990, after which he was employed as a rural mail carrier, retiring in 2005.

Dedicated to the community, Bernie was a member and served as president of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce and member and current president of the Minneapolis Development Corporation. He was also a member of the Minneapolis Country Club, served on the board for 15 years, and played in the men's golf league.

He is survived by his wife Connie of the home; a daughter, Cherie Serrano and husband Jimmy of Houston, Texas; two sons, Paul Hoover and wife Melinda and Scott Hoover and wife Kelli, all of Austin, Texas; three brothers, John Hoover of Newton, Al Hoover of Minneapolis, and Richard Hoover of Greenleaf; two sisters, Alberta Myers of Minneapolis and Rita Hoover of Long Beach, California; and by six grandchildren, Gage and Garrett Hoover, Laura and Julie Serrano and Mary and Abbey Hoover.

A memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Ryan Mortuary, 137 N. Eighth, Salina. Inurnment will be at a later date in Highland Cemetery, Minneapolis.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to American Heart Association or American Cancer Society.

It was Bernie's wish that his body be donated to the University of Kansas Medical Center.