Leonard John Hooper, Jr. Obituary (2015)

HOOPER, JR., LEONARD JOHN, 91 Gainesville - Dr. Leonard John ("Buddy") Hooper Jr., 91, of Gainesville, FL, passed away on August 20, 2015 after a brief illness. He was born in Bay Minette, Alabama to the late Leonard John Hooper, Sr. and Lallah Camella Northcutt Hooper, the oldest of four sons. Dr. Hooper was a Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications and was a member of First United Methodist Church in Gainesville. Dr. Hooper was preceded in death by his devoted wife of 51 years, Elizabeth Ann ("Betty") Snipes Hooper, his brother Thomas Northcutt Hooper of Houston TX, and his brother, Dr. William Edward James Hooper of Bay Minette, AL. He is survived by his two daughters, Elizabeth Anne Hooper Bartlett of Tampa, FL and Mary Emily Hooper Bullock of Gainesville, FL, his sons-in-law Jay Jule Bartlett and Robert Lee Bullock, and his grandchildren John Joseph Norman Bartlett, William Matthew Glenn Bartlett, Sarah Elizabeth Bullock, and Bryan Charles Mitchell Bartlett, his brother Dr. Glenn Scoble Hooper and his wife Carole of Tampa, FL and numerous nieces and nephews. Dr. Hooper graduated from Baldwin County High School in 1941 and entered Auburn University. He served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946 in Battery B 903rd Field Artillery Batallion as part of the first Division to cross the Rhine River into Germany. After his service, he returned to Auburn where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. After working as a Field Secretary for Sigma Pi Fraternity, Dr. Hooper completed a Master's Degree at the University of Missouri. While working in Advertising in Mobile, AL, he met and married the love of his life, the late Elizabeth Ann Snipes while singing in the church choir in Bay Minette. They moved to Birmingham, AL where he worked for an Advertising Agency. He completed his PhD at the University of Southern Illinois in 1964 and moved to Gainesville to join the burgeoning Journalism School at the University of Florida. During his twenty-seven year tenure at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, Dr. Hooper taught virtually every Advertising course offered, but was especially known for teaching Radio and Television Advertising and the Advertising Ethics Course. Dr. Hooper worked tirelessly to establish the graduate program and chaired and served on numerous PhD committees. Upon realizing that there was not a national organization for Public Relations students, Dr. Hooper led the effort to establish the first (Alpha) chapter of PRSSA in the country at UF. He was dedicated to his students and to sharing his love and knowledge of Advertising. Dr. Hooper grew up loving music and was involved with music in some way for most of his life. He played in school bands in high school and college, was his company's bugler in the Army, played in dance bands, performed in local theater productions, sang in his church choir wherever he lived, and was one of the founding members of the Gainesville Civic Chorus. He even sang while grading papers, though often filling in his own funny lyrics to popular songs. A lifelong lover of books and learning, he was an avid reader, preferring biographies, books about language and grammar, and history. A master of trivia, he was the ultimate answer man for books, history, television, movies and music. Though reserved in public, he had a dry sense of humor and a keen wit. He loved puns. He read the newspaper every day, several magazines, and every piece of mail that came, every day. He was never far from a crossword puzzle, and completed them methodically, top to bottom, left to right, with a medium length, number two pencil. Most of all Dr. Hooper loved his family and was a devoted son, brother, husband, father, uncle, and grandfather. After retiring from the University of Florida in 1991, he spent his time visiting family, gardening with Betty, doing jigsaw puzzles, working crossword puzzles, reading, and building lego creations with his grandchildren. A sweet and kind man, he always managed to find the positive in any situation, and show his appreciation to those around him. He will be missed. A memorial service for Leonard Hooper will be held Sunday, August 23, 2015 at 3:00 at the First United Methodist Church 419 NE 1st Street, Gainesville, FL. There will be a reception following in the Fellowship Hall. In Lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Methodist Home for Children or to Haven Hospice.