Charles Hooper

For a dear friend

One of the most generous people I have ever met. Will miss you. Ray and Dianne

A great friend, coworker and golfing partner for 25 years. His stories have kept me smiling for all that time. He was a hard worker and case . Great musician a trusted advisor and always made me laugh. His stories about his years as a federal marshal in Eastern Montana always amazed me. I have no personal knowledge about his dancing skills but to hear Chuck he was amazing. I will definitely miss talking with him.

I had the opportunity to work with Chuck at Kaiser Permanente in Washington for about 5 years. He was very friendly, helpful, loved to laugh, and was quite sociable. At his request, we started having weekly donut Friday's that went on for years until COVID hit. Every morning like clockwork, when Chuck and I were both in the office, he would stop by and sit in the chair pictured below in the corner of my office and chat about his family, friends, his childhood, and of course, work. He was such an easy person to converse with and boy did he love to laugh! Such a great smile too! Despite his incredibly social nature, when it came to his work, he was focused and dedicated, responsible, and was one of the highest producers in his group. Chuck was so smart! In fact, he was always ready to teach and share resources. Chuck certainly knew how to divide his work day in to chunks of times: morning coffee and chat time, work time, lunch and socializing time, and more work time. Nothing could sway him. Anyone who knew Chuck would know that lunch generally meant Black Bear Diner or Vince's Italian Food. However when COVID hit, Chuck may as well purchase stock in (perhaps he did) Jimmy John Sandwiches as they delivered to him daily for a year or two. It wouldn't surprise if Jimmy John's sales profit took a dive once Chuck retired. Two picture collages below showed some of us eating lunch surprisingly NOT at Black Bear diner nor Vince's. Larissa a former LPN (pictured laughing with Chuck wearing blue scrubs) and Chuck used to joke around alot. They had such good rapport with one another (They were both so very likeable). There was a period of time when Chuck wasn't able to walk for a month or two. Chuck would call Larissa on the phone, and she would meet him in the parking lot with a wheelchair and take him to his office. Then at the end of the day, Chuck would call Larissa again, and once again, she would get the wheelchair and take him from his office to his car. She even brought him water and coffee during the day. How could anyone turn him down? He had a way of turning on his charm with his boyish grin and get the help he needed, when he needed it. Chuck loved his family - especially his children and grandchildren. He was so proud of them. He spoke of them all the time. If he had pictures, he would share them. Although Chuck would have loved to have work until he could no longer do so, he was so thankful that he had the love and concern of his family (children especially) that would be a big part of his life once he moved back east to Montana. He loved visiting his son and son's family in Silverdale but stated they were moving east as well, so he did not regret leaving Washington in the end. Montana was going to be a fresh chapter in his life where he would be surrounded by his supportive family and also make new friends, perhaps see old friends. Although I was happy for Chuck, I was sad to my coffee buddy leave. I knew him as a strong and happy Chuck, a sad and broken Chuck, then a hopeful and eager Chuck. The collage with Chuck and the gals (me included) was taken on his last day of work where he celebrated his retirement at the Tokyo Teppanyaki Steakhouse. Going full circle to the picture with only Chuck sitting in his usual chair in my office, you can see a very relaxed and peaceful (and quite handsome) Chuck. He had been officially at the time of the picture, retired for a couple of weeks. He stopped by my office for his final farewell, just before leaving Washington state for the last time. I appreciate Chuck immensely and admire the heart he had for those he worked for (his patients and superiors) and those he cared for (family and friends). I am heartbroken and quite sad to learn that his retirement years were not as long as he truly deserved. In the end, it really is not about the quantity of years one lives, but the quality. On a few of my final phone conversations with Chuck, he was still quite interested to know what was going on in the department he worked in for so long. He was delighted to share times spent with his children, grandchildren and ex-wife. I was relieved and glad to hear that he was content and at peace in Montana. Chuck was truly a lovely soul to know, and I was blessed to have been able to call him my friend. My deepest condolences to all who knew and loved this wonderful man ~ especially to his beautiful children, grandchildren, former wife/wives. Although he is gone from our sight, he lives on forever in our hearts. To Chuck ~ Hey Chuck, when I see you again, coffee and donuts are on you! :-) In sympathy and with God's peace and blessings, Mary Marion-Hliza

With Chuck's passing, we all lost the finest person I've had the privilege to know. His fundamental goodness was what set him apart. During more than 63 years of friendship, I never heard him speak a harsh word about anyone. Family was everything to Chuck, and he could "hardly wait" for both group get-togethers and one-on-one conversations. I offer my sincerest condolences to his entire family, especially his three children. Rob, Mike and Tara, your dad often told me how proud he was of the people you've become. Please take comfort in knowing that he was very content with his life because of you.