PASSINGS : C.M. (Max) Hoover; Roper Corp. Chairman

C. M. (Max) Hoover, 68, who as chairman of the Roper Corp. oversaw a restructuring of the appliance manufacturer. Hoover joined Roper in 1961 and was elected chairman and chief executive officer in 1967. He retired as CEO in 1985 but stayed on as chairman. During his tenure as chief executive, he restructured Roper’s manufacturing facilities and built it into the largest manufacturer of lawn-mowing equipment and the nation’s third-largest maker of electric and gas ranges. In Chicago on Friday of undisclosed causes.