Earl was born on December 20, 1922 in South Bend, Indiana to the late Morris and Mary (Dhaene) Dhoore, and was a lifelong area resident of South Bend, Indiana.

Earl’s father immigrated to the United States 10 years earlier from Belgium with a total of twenty dollars in his pocket as recorded by the ship manifest. The family survived the Great Depression spending their summers in Arizona panning for gold.

Earl was a 1941 graduate of Washington High School, where he was a member of multiple State Championship football teams.

On October 31, 1942, he married Shirley Listek, with whom he had four children, daughters Colleen Holmes of VA, Judith Dhoore-Poelvoorde of Mishawaka, Janice (Mark) Sowers of TN and one son, Gregory (Gail) Dhoore of South Bend.

At age 20, Earl joined the Navy and served with honor from 1943 to 1945 in WWII as a Machinist Mate on the destroyer escort, USS Enright.

After the war, he went on to spend 20 years as a police officer with the South Bend, IN police department. Earl retired in 1968 as a Sergeant. 

He then worked another 20 years at Pella Sash & Door as a carpenter. He physically built all six homes he ever lived in with little outside help. His current home is one he repurchased after moving from another beautiful home he built on Diamond Lake in Cassopolis, Michigan.  The house on Diamond Lake was his retirement and dream home.

Earl has seven grandchildren, Daryl Zernick of TX, Aaron Poelvoorde of FL, Matthew Dhoore of Granger, IN, Adrienne Fraaza of MI, Adam Poelvoorde and Kerri Dhoore, both of South Bend, IN and Timothy Danov of MI; and three great-grandchildren, Blake Davis of South Bend, Madelynn Fraaza of MI and Brayden Dhoore of Granger, IN.

Earl had a sister, Alice Dhoore and two brothers, Theodore and Julius Dhoore.

Earl Dhoore died on May 12, 2009 at the age of 86 from complications caused by a stroke he suffered while at home with his wife of almost 67 years, Shirley.

He was United States Navy Veteran of WWII, a parishioner of Christ the King Catholic Church and a member of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #36.