Virginia Hooper

Aug. 29, 1927 - Nov. 1, 2020

Santa Cruz

Virginia Sharp Hooper passed away on November 1, 2020 after a long, gradual decline.

Ginny was born August 29, 1927 in Ottumwa, Iowa, to Allen Wiley Sharp and Mary Alcinda (Bonnifield) Sharp.

Ginny received a degree in horticulture from Iowa State and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Upon graduation, she worked in Chicago at the Field Museum of Natural History. There, she met William Thornton Hooper; they married in 1957 and moved to the Santa Clara Valley in 1962 where Thornton taught at San Jose State University. Ginny retired to Scotts Valley in 1989.

Ginny led an active life. She and her mother collected antiques and worked diligently on the family’s genealogy, corresponding with many genealogists preInternet. She completed two books about particularly interesting branches of the family tree and wrote a play centered around family history in Runnymede, Kansas. Ginny volunteered at the Santa Clara Library and was active in the Santa Clara and Scotts Valley historical societies. Expressing consternation that new developments bulldozed historic sites, she successfully worked to save some landmarks, such as the Scott House in Scotts Valley, CA.

Always the artist, she worked with pencils, paints, and ceramics, creating some endearing pieces. She loved the English language, Scrabble, bridge, and reading. She was forever looking for good books and magazines in whatever library she was near.

An earnest walker until late in life, she would meet friends for walks on West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz. While living in Scotts Valley, she would usually walk to the grocery store.

Ginny was proceeded in death by her two parents, her brother, Allen Bonnifield Sharp, and her exhusband, Thornton. She is survived by her three sons: Douglas, Charles (Lisa), and Stanley and three grandchildren: Russell and Mitchell Hooper and Marie Dippon.

Those who knew her in her last years remarked how she carried herself with dignity and treated those around her with kindness.

Virginia’s ashes will be interred at the family plot in Iowa. A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Scotts Valley Historical Society.