John William Hooper, 86, of Prince Frederick passed away September 29, 2011 at his home after a courageous battle with cancer. John was born July 4, 1925 in Prince Frederick, MD to John "Eddie" and Rosa Hooper.

At the age of 13 John began working on various farms in his hometown. When he was 17, he worked in construction for a short time. Shortly after that, he married Annie. Soon after that he was drafted into the Army, where he served for one year. When he returned from serving his country, he began his career with the Fire Department, which he retired from after 31 years of dedicated service.

John had many passions in life, and first and foremost was his family. He loved to cook and fix meals for everyone, and was known for his fried chicken and Maryland stuffed ham. He even created a dish that he named "corn willie". He loved to work outside in his yard and enjoyed growing a garden every year. He loved talking about the old times to all. John was a man of many skills and talents. He couldn't wait for Monday, Thursday & Friday evenings so he could watch his WWE wrestling.

He loved his faithful dog Chico who stayed with him throughout his illness. John was a generous, kind and loving man. He was always willing to go out of his way to help anyone at anytime. He was loved by his family and will truly be missed. To know John was to love him.

John was preceded in death by his parents, and by one son, Charles.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Annie, his children Johnny, William, Donald Lee (Gladys), Karen (Barbara), and his grandson whom he raised, Charlie(Carrie). He is also survived by his grandchildren Donald Jr., Tony, Tamara, Becky and Jason. He has 11 great-grandchildren, Erin, Matthew, Tiffanie, Kyle, Emily, Kaylyn, Conner, Alyssa, Alexia, Aubrey, and Allison. John is survived by numerous nieces and nephews including his devoted and loving niece, Teanie Selig.

Active pallbearers will be Charlie Hooper, Tony Hooper, Goldie Nutwell, Mark Walters, Louis Gross, and John Peters. Honorary pallbearers will be Johnny Hooper, Karen Hooper, Kyle Hooper, and Conner Hooper. The officiating clergy will be Reverend Willie Davis.

The family will receive relatives and friends for a visitation on October 3, 2011 from 5 – 8 PM at the Rausch Funeral Home, PA., in Port Republic, MD. A funeral service will be held on October 4, 2011 at 11:00 AM in the Rausch Funeral Home. Interment will take place following the funeral services at Central Cemetery in Barstow, MD.

Contributions may be made in John Hoopers honor to Prince Frederick Vol. Rescue Squad, 755 Solomons Island Rd. South, P.O. Box 346 Prince Frederick, MD 20678 AND/OR Prince Frederick Vol. Fire Dept. 450 Solomons Island Rd. South Prince Frederick, MD 20678

Arrangements provided by Rausch Funeral Home.