Born: September 17, 1926, Greenville, South Carolina.
Died: December 28, 2001, Tucker, Georgia.
Buried: Decatur Cemetery, Decatur, Georgia.
Hovie was the son of William Herman Lister and Renty Jo Sanders, and husband of Ethel Abbott.
He studied at the Stamps Baxter School of Music, and performed with the Homeland Harmony Quartet, the LeFevre Trio and the Rangers Quartet, and formed the Statesmen Quartet in 1948.
He also played piano for the Palmetto State Quartet (1989–92), formed a group called the Masters V, and was a regular on the Gaither Homecoming Tour.
He was inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 1984, and the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 1997.