Obituary of Richard Hooker Jr.

Richard Hooker Jr., age 89, of Mt. Kisco died Wednesday, June 22, 2016. Richard was born July 20, 1926 in New Haven, CT., the son of the late Richard (Ozzy) and Isabel (Paine) Hooker Sr.. As a teenager, Richard Hooker Jr. worked in his father’s hardware store in Mt. Kisco and got involved in the Mt. Kisco Fire Dept. Fife Drum Core at the age of 14 by his father (a member of the Independent Fire Company). In 1941, he had his own orchestra and played at several venues, including school dances and weddings. Richard Hooker Jr., graduated Mt. Kisco high school in 1944 where he was class president. Two days after graduation he enlisted in the Navy where he spent 2 years in the Armed Guard Division for the U.S. Navy during WWII, as a seaman First Class. After his service, he joined the Mt. Kisco Rescue Fire Police in 1947 and stayed until 1955. In 1952, he married Ann Wilson Hooker (who predeceased him in March of 2014). In 1961, he and his wife moved from Mt. Kisco to Chappaqua where he remained. During his career, he worked for Freight Tarrif Bureau at Grand Central, Fox & Sutherland’s, American Cyanide, Crawford & Russel, DeLaval and retired in 1991 from Witco/Chemprene as a process engineer. He is survived by his daughter Sandra Anne Hooker and his son Richard Thomas Hooker, as well as his granddaughters Christiana Mackenzie Dorothy Hooker and Montana Mackenzie Hooker, and his Border Collie, Would-Ja. Friends may call on at the Oelker-Cox & Sinatra Funeral Home, 262 E. Main Street, Mount Kisco, NY on Sunday from 4 to 8 PM. A funeral service will be held later that night at 7:30 PM at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to: Yorktown Artificial Kidney Center, 2649 Strang Blvd., Suite 100, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 or Hospice of Westcheste & Putnam, 540 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591..