Addiction recovery facility donor calls it his ‘greatest victory’

The John L. Hoich Center for Recovery sits where Hoich's father once ran a bar. He says everyone thought he'd end up following the same path as his father, who died of alcohol addiction.

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Namesake of addiction recovery facility calls it his ‘greatest victory’

OMAHA, Neb. —

John Hoich says everyone thought he’d end up following the same path as his father, who died of alcohol addiction at the age of 57.

The Valley man says the only time he spent time with his father was Saturday mornings, when he helped to clean at his bar as a kid.

“I never was able to have a father that was proud of me, and he was drunk. He drank 27 screwdrivers a day,” Hoich said.

Hoich’s father’s bar stood where an addiction recovery facility now stands: the Stephen Center’s John L. Hoich Center for Recovery.

It reopened last month after renovations, after first opening in 2006.

He’s given more than $1 million to support the facility.

Hoich wonders if things might have been different if his father, who had PTSD, had access to a program like the one at the Stephen Center.

“Sometimes I pray and wish, but it was, you know, impossible,” he said. “Because they didn’t have it.”

Hoich, who grew up in foster homes after his mother died of a heart attack at 39 years old, said his success began with humble beginnings, including paper routes and a lawn mowing business he sold as a teenager.

“Service above self, to me, is three words that stick in my life every day of my life. How can I help people, you know, transition their lives to be better?” Hoich said.

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