| Graduation Year | Class of 1955 |
| Date of Passing | Jul 26, 2000 |
| About | Cape Cod Times August 15, 2000 Charles W. 'Smokey' Stover, 63 Bourne High 1955 graduate had cattle, investment business BOURNE - Charles W. "Smokey" Stover, 63, a 1955 graduate of Bourne High School, died July 26 when his single-engine plane crashed in Lunenburg, about 40 miles northwest of Boston. The only person aboard the plane, he was returning to Massachusetts for a high school reunion in Bourne on August 5, arriving early to spend time with his brother. Mr. Stover was an experienced pilot who, when his 1965 Mooney M-20E aircraft began having fuel problems, was able to crash-land in a residential area without striking any homes. He was forced to bring the plane down between two homes and to avoid them had to dip a wing, which resulted in a more violent crash landing. Known in Bourne by his nickname "Smokey" Stover, he spent his adolescence and late teens on the Upper Cape, living on Otis Air Force Base. He was well-known in high school and in the community for his athletic and academic abilities and his hijinks. After high school, Mr. Stover served four years in the Air Force, after which he graduated from the University of Texas. He settled in Texas, where he developed a successful investment and cattle business. He was proud to be part of the Stover family, which traces its American roots to the early 1600s and was one of the first families to settle in what is now Maine, but was then the far northern territory of Massachusetts. Funeral services were held in Texas. |
