Buddy William Hooper
1931-2022/ In Loving Memory
Salt Lake City, UT-Buddie William Hooper died peacefully on August 30, 2022 in Salt Lake City, UT at age 91. He was born August 30, 1931 in Kannapolis, NC A retired Air Force Veteran and an avid sportsman who loved country music , hunting, fishing, and for many years running his hunting dogs. He instilled the value of an education to all young people, most likely because he never graduated high school himself and seemed to regret most the opportunities he missed from not getting his education. At age 20, he was enlisted with the Air Force and moved from the small town of Concord, North Carolina to Cocoa Beach, Florida. He owned a twin engine Cessna and had a pilot who flew him to Nassau in the Bahamas for work. At age 22, he had his first daughter, Brenda, with his first wife, Patricia Bomgardner. His second daughter, Donna was born when he was age 26. Around age 35, he traveled to and worked on road construction in Belize, Central America and spent several years working and living between Belize and Florida. He expressed regret at missing out on many of the memorable milestones for Brenda and Donna during these long periods of time away in Belize but was able to reconnect with them in their adult years with a shared love of deep-sea fishing, hunting and sometimes gambling . At age 41, he had his 3rd daughter, Rina, in Belize with his second wife, Josephine Malic. In his mid 40’s, he spent months traveling with a friend down the Amazon River. He touched the lives of much of Josephine’s family in Belize who recalled his generosity and him being a family man. He enjoyed watching the kids in Belize have fun, especially at the holidays. He freely gave them his time, knowledge, and resources and is remembered fondly. He was known as a great cook, king of the barbecue pit and remembered for cooking “with love” his secret ingredient. To his nieces, he is remembered as being funny, quick witted and adventurous. To his grandchildren, he was a constant optimist who always had a good story to share. He had that “Hooper” sense of humor. Sometimes acting so serious and then busting out laughing because he was pulling a joke. When asked how much alcohol he consumed, he would answer, “about 6 beers.” Break. “A year.” He loved to tell folks how he met Howard Hughes, JFK, John D McArthur and Donald Trump. He was twice married and twice divorced. He is survived by his three daughters, Brenda Burnsed, Donna Kramer and Rina Corson; his grandchildren, Tracy Silpe, Shannon Burnsed, Kimberly Burnsed, William Corson and Ridley Corson; his great grandchildren, Mariel Silpe, Ava Silpe, James Burnsed and Dustin Datillio. His last 4 years were in Salt Lake City, UT near Rina, her husband, Rob, and their children, William and Ridley. His last moments were being held by Rina and looking at William and Ridley. We love you and will all miss you Dad, PaPa, Grandpa, Buddie.
Published by The Salt Lake Tribune from Sep. 14 to Sep. 18, 2022.
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