Charles Eugene Hooper

A child of the Depression, Charlie earned money delivering newspapers and pulling nails from old boards to sell as scrap lumber. He was very athletic and played varsity baseball and basketball in high school. Immediately after graduating, he and a few buddies joined the Navy, where he was proud to be one of the “cornfield sailors.” He later served in the Naval Reserves, retiring as a Commander.

At 19, while training at Great Lakes Naval Air Station, he hitchhiked home and married Arlene Roelfs on March 27, 1953, famously late for his own wedding after difficulty getting a ride.

Charlie then began his civil service career at Chanute AFB in Rantoul, first teaching weather and rising to be the top training specialist and principal advisor to the base commander. While raising four boys, he still was able to attend the University of Illinois part-time, until earning a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Industrial Education. He often reminded his sons how lucky they were to go to college full time. His recognition of the value of a college education led him to provide the means for all his children and grandchildren to obtain a college degree. He had begun doing the same for his great-grandchildren.

He also made the time to be a very active father to his sons and to serve his community. He was a baseball coach, a member of the school board, a Sunday School teacher, and an officer of American Lutheran Church and the Eden Park Cemetery Association. Many people recall Charlie, his father George, and his sons mowing the grass at the cemetery on the green Oliver tractor. His ashes will be buried there with Arlene’s.

Neighbors in Eden Park were truly a big family, and Charlie was one of the dads, organizing camping trips, kickball, kittenball, cookouts, and looking out for everyone. Around a campfire, he nearly always suggested singing “Ain’t Gonna Grieve My Lord No More.” He spread trails of sand across the hot, tarry streets in the summer so the bare feet of the kids wouldn’t burn. Before anyone had heard the phrase “it takes a village” he embodied the term.

Charlie Hooper’s legacy cannot be completely told without mentioning the game of cribbage. After learning it in the Navy, he enjoyed a lifetime of competition, playing with friends, family, in-laws, and outlaws. He particularly enjoyed teaching the game to his children and grandchildren, introducing them as soon as they could count to 31. He was a master.

Upon retirement, he and Arlene made their home at Thunderbird Park in Ft. Myers, Florida, and it became his new (older) Eden Park family. He helped everyone that needed him: power washing siding, hanging ceiling fans, and was a Mr. Fixit handyman. It was also during this time that he served his Shrine Club faithfully, participating in those entertaining parades, calling Bingo, and was renowned for the soups he cooked at the suppers. As he aged and slowed down, he generally watched out for his numerous friends. You saw him everyday riding around in his golf cart, “Mr. Charlie” making sure all was in order and delivering flowers to many of the ladies in those little Corona bottles. He loved to grow hot peppers and tomatoes and shared them with all.

Saturday mornings were special. It was “game day” and he headed to the bocce court to play with his neighbors, indeed very special friends, for a weekend ritual of spirited competition. When asked how his team did, his response was either “we won” or “I don’t remember.”

Charlie loved, and was loved by, many, many people. He didn’t say much: he would just show you how to be a good man by his actions, and he truly had a heart of gold. He was the first to say he had a full life, and he will be well remembered for his kindness, his friendship, and his generosity.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Arlene; his parents, George and Else Hooper; and his sister, Juanita Busboom. He is survived by four sons, Stephen, of Royal, IL: Jonathan (Nancy), Dallas, TX: George (Connie), Atlantic, IA: and Andrew (Jenny), Lecanto, FL; seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren, with one more on the way.

A private family gathering is planned.