Hooper, Paul June 30, 2008
Paul passed away, at the family home, on June 30, 2008 after a short battle with cancer. Read Tribute He was born May 23, 1930 in Johnson, Washington, a small community in the Palouse. Paul was the youngest of nine children, of Fred William Hooper and Clara Evaline (Reed) Hooper. He and his siblings grew up around the grain elevators where his father was the elevator manager. Paul first years of schooling were spent in the one-room schoolhouse in Johnson. He then attended Pullman High School and entered WSC (WSU) in 1948. He was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, an Intercollegiate Knight, and was a member of ROTC. He graduated in Civil Engineering from WSU in 1953. Paul then joined the Army Corp of Engineers and served two years. After he completed his military duty, he attended Yale University for graduate studies in Transportation Engineering. Paul also served an additional 14 years in the Army reserves, achieving the rank of Major.
Paul, a professional Transportation Engineer, worked for the WSDOT and King County for 28 years. In 1985 he retired as the King County Road Engineer, responsible for the County’s road system. He was also an active member of the Institute of Traffic Engineers, as an international officer and the American Public Works Assoc. He found he couldn’t give up his love for his work and became a consultant for 10 years after his retirement, working on various special public works projects.
Paul met Sally Kaye Senn when she was visiting her aunt in Johnson, Washington, next door to where the Hooper family lived. They began to date in 1958 and were married in August 1959. After short time in Chehalis, they moved to Bellevue where they lived for 47 years. Most of this time was spent in Newport Hills.
Paul enjoyed being active and around people. He and Sally traveled worldwide with friends. They went on trips to Central America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Some of the most enjoyable trips were the river trips through Europe. Paul enjoyed collecting stamps and collecting and displaying Nutcrackers and Santas. He was also interested in wine and he participated actively in the Seattle Wine Society, spending many years on the board of directors. Paul was a long-time supporter of Washington State University, from which all of his family graduated. Paul was a President’s Associate of the WSU Foundation. He enjoyed hours cultivating his flowers and feeding the neighborhood birds from his park-like yard. He also enjoyed reading mystery novels and spent hours working on crossword puzzles. When his boys started to participate in team sports Paul was a big supporter and decided to coach their teams. He worked with all three boys, spending hours coaching the neighborhood kids in Little League baseball and Newport Hills soccer. Paul also enjoyed umpiring Little League and participated in this up to the state tournament level. He was also a great fan for his boys as they continued sports in college and beyond. Paul made many good friends in the Cougar Baseball family while traveling to the many games he attended.
Paul is survived by his wife of 49 years, Sally, sons Todd (Martie), Craig (Jill), Jeff (Betsy), two brothers (Bill, John) and two sisters (Marguerite, Isabel), and 4 grandchildren; Johnna, Taylor, Kelly, and Clay. A Memorial Service will be held on July 13, 2008 at 2 pm at the First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue, 1717 Bellevue Way NE Bellevue, WA 98004.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances can be sent to the WSU FOUNDATION, PO Box 641927, Pullman, WA 99164-1927 or Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, PO Box 19024, Seattle, WA 98109
4 Responses to “Hooper, Paul June 30, 2008”
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Dear Hooper family,
Several years ago, after I had returned from Iraq, my family and I were driving through Newport Hills. I wanted to show my kids the neighborhood where I grew up. As we drove around, I turned the corner onto your family’s street. Out in the front yard was Mr. Hooper doing some yard work. I quickly stopped my truck and got out. He immediately recognized me and we chatted away for a couple of minutes. He spoke very proudly of his family and his pride in how well they all were doing. He asked about my family and was pleased that we also were doing well. After a couple of minutes, we shook hands and I left. I was very pleased that he remembered me and had a couple of minutes to chat.
I will always remember Mr. Hooper (he will always be Mr. Hooper to me) walking the neighborhood handing out little league sign up forms. He had a flock of kids around him and was enjoying every minute of it. My love of baseball and sports in general are deeply tied to my memory of him. I am deeply sorry for your loss, but his legacy and memory will live on in all those that knew him.
Respectfully,
Rob Warfield
Paul was the consummate professional engineer dedicated to excellence in his position as the King County Traffic Engineer. It was my privilege to know and work with him for a number of years. His leadership made a difference for the motoring public that lives on to this day although, sadly,he is gone. Don Larson, 3M Retired
I knew Paul as one of the volunteer facilitators of the Getting There Safely program put on by the state. I was one of the program’s guest speakers, and had a friendly banter with Paul for years. We used to joke about Paul needing to “get the hook out” once I started talking as it could be hard to shut me up! I didn’t know Paul well, but was impressed with the fact that he was a committed volunteer, giving back to the community by sharing his knowledge with other seniors. I loved talking to Paul about travel and was impressed with his zest for living. He was a good man and he will be missed.
I am so sorry for your loss,
Kim Underwood
It was a privilege, even honor, to serve on Paul Hooper’s KC team. I will never forget those good days. He was a class act, a consummate professional with an obvious personal interest in all staff. His retirement was a real loss to KC that is only exacerbated by his passing.
May God bless Paul Hooper and give strength to his family.