Sidney F. Hooper II, of Santa Rosa, Calif., passed away Feb. 14, 2011, in Santa Rosa at the age of 99, one month shy of his 100th birthday.
He was the husband of the late Dorothy E. (Blaser) Hooper, who passed away in 1946, and his second wife, Eileen M. (Hannon) Hooper, who now resides in Marion.
Born in Winchester on March 15, 1911, he graduated from Dartmouth College, class of 1934, with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy. He continued on to Harvard Law School, where his education was interrupted by World War II.
He later formed his own business, the Wayside Warehouse, in Chelmsford, where he was a pioneer in the mass sale of major appliances throughout the Northeast.
In his later years, he moved to California and remained active in this same field. He enjoyed his retirement years in Brewster on Cape Cod Bay, followed by several years on Venice Isle in Florida, then 10 years in Richland, Wash., and most recently he returned to California.
He is lovingly survived by children Sidney F. Hooper III and his wife Helen of Nashua, N.H., Judith Hutchings and her husband Paul of Santa Rosa, Calif., Mary Ellen Marshall and her husband Thomas of Sarasota, Fla., Patricia Caddey and her husband Jim of Pateros, Wash., and preceding him in death was his late daughter Maureen A. Wells. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren: Frank Hooper, Stephen Hooper, Robin Roche, Tiffany Hutchings, Tristan Marshall, Colin Marshall, Shea Marshall, Colin Dana, Marisa Dana and Shane Wells; great-grandchildren William, Erin and Matthew; nieces Jane and Susan, and nephew Peter.
In addition to his family, "Frank" had many varied interests in his life. This included an extensive study of Christian and Buddhist philosophy (The Monk and The Philosopher was his favorite reading on the subject); enjoyed considerable travel where he studied architecture with emphasis on European Cathedrals; and his third passion was the study of Biology of the Human Anatomy. He was well versed in all three fields.
Funeral Services are private.
Memorial donations in his memory are preferred to the Sonoma County Council on Aging, 30 Kawana Springs Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404.