John Robert Hoag, 91
John Robert Hoag, of Lakewood, passed away Nov. 2, 2021, at the age of 91. He was born Oct. 6, 1930, in Cleveland, Ohio, the third of four children. John was drafted into the Army during the Korean War, serving as a sergeant in the Survey Corps. On returning, unable to afford college, he took a job as a waiter in Ithaca, N.Y., home of Cornell University, where he accidentally spilled a pitcher of beer on a young woman who would become his future wife. After moving to Chicago and starting his family, he became a salesman for a chemical wholesaling house, and it was not long before he decided to open his own company. With a loan from his





