Anita Augusta Hooper

She was married to Kenneth Barnett, until his death aboard a U.S. Navy ship in World War II. She then joined the Waves, an acronym for Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service in the U.S. Navy.  While assigned to Camp Adair near Corvallis, Oregon to help returning veterans recover, she met Harry Herschel Hooper.  

Harry was another Navy man, but suffered in a Japanese prison camp for over three and a half years after his ship, the USS Pope (DD-225), was sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea. They were married in 1946, and moved to The Dalles, Harry’s hometown, where Harry worked in the Sunshine Mill.  In 1949, Harry’s name was drawn as the winner of farm property near Hazelton, Idaho.  They developed and farmed that property for several years, and then moved to Grass Valley, where they purchased the motel and Union 76 service station.

While in Grass Valley and on October 13, 1952, their son Floyd Arnold Hooper was born.  Floyd recently retired from the Oregon Department of Transportation and lives with his partner Terri Haag at Pine Hollow, Oregon.

Harry had suffered permanent injuries during his internment, making it difficult to sustain the kind of work the service station required.  They sold the motel and station and then operated a feed lot near Tygh Valley, and then leased some farm land on Juniper Flat.  While there, Anita led an effort to create a rural fire protection district, and became its first fire chief.

After several successful years farming, they bought a place on Hood Canal in Washington and divided their time between that home and a place in Yuma, Arizona.  

Anita loved to water ski, slalom style, but when she turned 80, Harry decided it was time for them to quit, and sold the boat.  They eventually decided to also slow down on travel, and bought a home in The Dalles.  After one of their morning card games following breakfast, Harry dozed off in his chair and did not awaken.  Anita lost her partner of 65 years on October 10, 2011.

Anita continued her independent ways, despite macular degeneration and hearing impairment.  She was still able to play cards, and had good friends who provided transportation.  Her only medication was an occasional aspirin, and she continued to live independently at her home in The Dalles until about three months ago, when she moved to Flagstone Senior Living in The Dalles.

A memorial event with music and tributes provided by the Mobley family is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 24, 2019 at the Pavilion in Grass Valley, Oregon.  Contributions to the Grass Valley Pavilion in memory of Anita are encouraged.