Richard Hooper Obituary

Richard Allen Hooper, 61, of Morristown, Tenn., died July 4, 2022, at his home following a long illness.
He was a member of Centenary United Methodist Church and a 1978 graduate of Tellico Plains High School. He also attended Cleveland State Community College, University of Tennessee Knoxville, and Tennessee Wesleyan College.
Hooper's career spanned four-decades of newspaper photography, writing and editing. While still in high school, he was Sports Editor and Photographer for the Monroe County Advocate. Later, he held various positions as Staff Writer, Sports Editor, News Editor and eventually Managing Editor at newspapers including the Daily Post Athenian, Cleveland Daily Banner, Morgan County News, Roane County News, Harriman Record, Rogersville Review, Clinton Courier, Oak Ridger and Newport Plain Talk. He won numerous awards for sports writing and photography, public service, investigative reports and writing excellence, the Tennessee School Board Association Golden Quill Award for news coverage of schools in 1989, and the prestigious Edward J. Meeman Award for first place in Public Service from the University of Tennessee/Tennessee Press Association in 2016.
Much of Hooper's community work was through his involvement in local journalism. He served on Tennessee Press Association Freedom of Information and Government Relations committees, and Keep Roane County Beautiful board of directors, four terms as president of the Newport Lions Club, served as a member of Rotary, Kiwanis and Jaycees civic clubs, and as a Roane County Health Council member. After moving to Morristown, he built the Blessing Box now used by Centenary United Methodist Church.
He enjoyed fishing, camping, and playing guitar. Most of all, he loved being with family and friends and sharing his special humor.
He was preceded in death by his parents, James Harley and Emma Sue Hooper of Tellico Plains, and his brother James Gary "Butch" Hooper of Cleveland., Tenn.
Survivors include his wife of 31 years, Jennifer (Imhoff) Hooper; daughters Emilia Farmer and Deirdre (Seth) Barber of Knoxville; sons Richard Andrew Hooper of Newport and Sean Christian Hooper of Morristown; and grandsons Elijah and Ethan Barber of Knoxville; cousins Howard Hooper, Mary (Michael) Minic, Bruce Hooper, Charlie Hooper, Tammy Kilby, Keith Kilby, Diana (Veronica) Zacharias, Michelle (Chuck) Zingale, Sheila (Ken) Fisher; nephews T.J. (Nicole) Hooper, Kristofer (Helen) Mann, and Joseph Smakula; sisters-in-law Catherine Imhoff of Laurel, Maryland. and Lucinda (Ken) Mann of Rittman, Ohio; special friends Robert "Skip" Sykes, Duay O'Neal, and many more friends and relatives.
The family will receive friends 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 9, 2022, at Biereley-Hale Funeral Home in Madisonville. Funeral services will immediately follow at 3 p.m. with the Rev. Vivian Reed officiating. Interment will follow at the New Providence Baptist Church cemetery in Tellico Plains. A Celebration of Life will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, July 16, 2022. at Centenary United Methodist Church, Morristown with Rev. Reed officiating assisted by Rev. Ginger Isom.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Centenary United Methodist Church, 206 N. Jackson St., Morristown, TN 37814, or in memory of Richard Hooper to any charitable organization.
To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of
Richard Allen Hooper, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.