Mary Elida Hooper Meeker

Mary Elida (Hooper) Meeker died April 4, 2017, peacefully at home of metastatic bladder cancer. Mary was born February 17, 1940, in Portland, the second child of Mary Charlotte (Brewer) Hooper and Dallas Albert Hooper. She grew up with her two brothers on the family wheat farm several miles outside Dixie. Special memories from that time included seeing, from the returning school bus at dusk, the first lights from electrification of their farm; and acquiring her beloved Morgan horse, Dusty.

She attended Dixie Elementary School and Walla Walla High School, where she was salutatorian of the class of 1958. The Union-Bulletin quoted her mother who described Mary’s organizational skill: “She does more things in a minute than I get done all day… She’s easy to live with, agreeable, and ambitious.” Scores of friends over the years would confirm and appreciate that skill. At Central Washington State College, Mary was selected to Spurs, women’s honorary service society, Kappa Delta Pi honorary education society, and was elected student body representative and, finally, Secretary of the student body. After graduating in 1962, she taught two years in Concord/ Walnut Creek, California. Then, in her adventurous slant, she taught for two years in the American armed-forces dependents’ school at Caserne Lariboisiere, Fontainebleau, France. There she met her future husband, Dr. David Meeker. They were married in Walla Walla on New Year’s Eve, 1966.

She returned with her new army-doctor husband to France, then to a secret depot in England, then to Burtonwood, England, where she taught “army brats” in multiple grades with maximum improvisation in an old air-base hangar. The couple returned for Dr. Meeker’s specialty-residency to Seattle, where their two sons were born. They later moved to Salt Lake City, Portland, and La Grande, Oregon, before Dr. Meeker accepted a position in Walla Walla with Davis-Sameh(-Meeker) Pathology Laboratories in 1976.

Mary was a devoted and recognized civic volunteer in the Walla Walla community: organizing volunteers and earning two Golden Acorns for PTA service; cooperatively establishing the Explorer program in schools; supporting successful school-board candidates; co-chairing school-levy campaign; leading local diabetes activities for years; volunteering in Great Books program; serving on the YWCA Board and committees and teaching in the YW’s “Smart” classes for girls; serving on the Blue Mountain Land Trust board, among other civic activities. In later years, she indulged her love of local history by researching title-histories of old houses for the civic-improvement group, Walla Walla 20-20. Mary was honored to receive the Chamber of Commerce annual volunteer Award of Merit in 1995; and in 2016, the YWCA Leader of Distinction Award. Mary had a deep love of learning, and was a recognized expert on history of Walla Walla and the Pacific Northwest. She was proud of her family’s farming and other work over the past four generations. She particularly loved the time she was able to spend with her grandson Devon. Mary is survived by her husband of 50 years, Dr. David Meeker; sons Christopher (Jennifer) and Dallas (Frances), and grandson Devon; as well as brothers Paul (Gloria), Kenneth (Sally) and a number of nephews, nieces and their children, as well as too many friends to count. She was preceded in death by her parents Dallas and Charlotte Hooper.

A private inurnment was held in Mountain View Cemetery on April 10, 2017, and a memorial service will be held at First Congregational Church on Saturday, April 22, 2017, at 1:00 p.m., with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts to the Walla Walla YWCA or the Providence St. Mary Cancer Center.