Lt. Commander Vila J. "Bobbi" Hovis, USN Ret.

Lt. Commander Vila J. “Bobbi” Hovis, USN Retired, 98, passed away May 5, 2024 at her home in Annapolis, MD following a brief illness.

Bobbi was born in Girard, OH on August 31, 1925 to Myron and Doris Hovis. When Bobbi was still very young, the family moved to the shores of Edinboro Lake. It was there, with the help of her father, that she learned how to build sailboats and sail, and where her love of the water began. Bobbi also knew at a young age that she wanted to be a nurse, and after high school she received her Registered Nursing Degree from West Penn Hospital School of Nursing in Pittsburgh.

Bobbi set her goals very high and pursued them the remainder of her life. She joined the Navy Nurse Corps and completed her flight training at US Air Station Jacksonville, Florida before being ordered to active duty in October 1947. She was involved in the Korean Air Lift, transporting wounded soldiers to Japan. Along with her friend and fellow nurse, Tweedie, she volunteered for duty in the Vietnam War where they and a handful of nurses took a dilapidated apartment building and, in extreme conditions, turned it into a hospital complete with an operating room and post care beds for wounded soldiers. She would later pen a book about their experience titled “Station Hospital Saigon”. 

Bobbi loved the Navy Nurse Corps and devoted her life to their mission. She retired from the Corps in 1967 and lived in Annapolis, MD the remainder of her life. She was very involved with Navy Football, Navy Basketball and the Naval Academy Sailing Program.

Survivors included 11 cousins; Jane Lloyd and Sandy Harned of Edinboro, with others scattered across the U.S.

A memorial service will be held Friday, August 16th at 11 a.m. at Edinboro United Methodist Church, 113 High Street, Edinboro, PA. Burial of ashes with full military honors will follow at Edinboro Cemetery, and family and friends are invited to attend a luncheon at the church immediately following burial. 

The Glunt Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., Edinboro is entrusted with Bobbi’s final arrangements. To send condolences, please visit www.gluntfuneralhome.com.