Obituary: Hooper, John Miles
Originally from Johnson, WA, where his father managed the co-op grain elevator, John, the middle child of nine siblings, attended Johnson school, the one-room school house that served as both an all-grades school and church.
He graduated from Washington State College with a BA in education majoring in Physical Education and minoring in Business.
John and his brothers played basketball for WSC and John was a three-year letterman.
He competed in the 1941 West Coast Western Championship NCAA finals.
During his youth he also became an avid golfer using box elder and hickory wood clubs he and his brothers made playing on the course they created in the family five acre cow pasture.
After college, during World War II, John served in the U.S. Marines as an Aviation-Communication Officer in the Southern Pacific Theater.
He retired as a Major in 1946.
John began his work career in sales and marketing that same year as a salesman for Van Waters and Rodgers in Seattle, WA and retired in 1985 as Senior Vice President of Western Operations of Stauffer Chemical Company in San Francisco.
After corporate life, he and his wife Anne created and ran an event planning business, Hoopers by the Bay, specializing in wine tours and golf events for corporate conferences.
John lived by the mottos, ‘He who can Must!’
and ‘To live out your faith, you must help others’.
As a young adult he and his siblings assisted each other so all could obtain college educations.
During his working years, he served on the Pacific Coast Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
He was the founder and the driving force in creating the Christian Action Life Line(CALL) Primrose Center in Burlingame, CA, a multi-denominational community help organization.
He also held fund-raising leadership roles for the United Way and the Save the San Francisco Cable Cars 1983 Restoration Project which earned him a hand shake from then Mayor Diane Feinstein.
After retiring from corporate life, John and Anne moved to Santa Rosa, CA to enjoy golf course living which afforded them the opportunity to entertain friends and family in the Northern California wine country.
They especially enjoyed their visits from their grandson Jason and their north western relatives.
Even in retirement, John was an engaged member of his community.
He served as president of his home owners association and the Oakmont Golf Club overseeing major renovations to the golf course, building a new pro shop and renovating the restaurant and banquet facility.
John also served the Oakmont Community Church as Elder, a member of the Executive Management Team and Chair of the Missions Committee.
He greatly loved being part of that church family.
John was married to Anne Murray Reddic who he met in Portland, OR.
They were married for 53 years raising their two children, Michael and Carol, in Burlingame, CA.
John is survived by sisters Marguerite Hooper of Pullman, WA and Isabel Nodland of Spokane, WA; children Lisa Hooper (from John’s 1st marriage) and husband Russell Holzhauser; Michael Hooper and Carol Hooper and grandson Jason Peabody.
John was preceded in death by his wife, Anne Reddic Hooper and his siblings William, Frank, Albert (Pete), Laura Ann, Vern and Paul.
A celebration of John’s life will be held Saturday, October 11 at 11 a.m. at the Oakmont East Recreation Center, 7902 Oakmont Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95409.
Donations in John’s memory to either CALL Primrose Center, 139 Primrose Road, Burlingame, CA 94010, http://www.callprimrose.org or Boys & Girls Clubs of America, http://greatfutures.org.