Margie Hooper

Margie was born to Frank and Vella Buchanan in Sylva, N.C., on April 15, 1925. She frequently joked that no one was happy to see her birthday come around as the date is also the tax deadline.

Margie graduated from Webster High School in 1943. Her class was small, and many of them remained lifelong friends.

She met and married Kenneth Hooper in 1945. They had three children, Ken Jr., Roger and Shawn. Roger died as an infant, but Ken Jr. and Shawn had the pleasure and good fortune of having a loving mom in their lives until just after her 98th birthday.

A career highlight in Margie’s life was her work beginning in 1960 as a secretary at Sylva-Webster High School. She was much loved by students and faculty alike, many who have maintained friendships with her over these many years. She left the high school when Mr. Carr Hooper (principal) retired in 1969. Margie completed her working career after years of fulfilling work at W.C. Hennessee Lumber Company.

Margie was preceded in death by her mother and father, her siblings (Anne Bell, Betty Johnson and R.C. Buchanan); several nieces and nephews; an infant son, Roger; and her husband, Kenneth.

She is survived by her son, Ken Jr.; daughter, Shawn; her son-in-law, Jim Petrini; and her much loved granddaughter, Heather Hooper.

Following her husband’s lengthy illness and death in 2003, Margie moved to Cary, N.C., to be near Shawn and Jim, though a piece of her heart and true home remained in Sylva. She spent the next 20 years traveling with her family, faithfully attending Sunday services, shopping, celebrating birthdays and making new friends.

All who met Margie were touched by her kindness, her strong and guiding faith in God, her sense of style and fashion and her love of life. She lived a full life on earth, is truly missed by all who knew her and is now in Heaven reunited with loved ones. Mom, we love and miss you!

A memorial service will be held at Scotts Creek Baptist Church on Friday June 2, 2023, at 2 p.m.

Family and friends will be received at the church an hour before the service from 1-2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Old Field Cemetery Fund, P.O. Box 55, Sylva, NC 28779.

A private burial will take place following the service.

An online registry is available at www.appalachianfuneralservices.com.