Obituary of Kathleen M. Hooper

Kathleen Mary (nee Shelley) Hooper, 67, passed away at her home in Lake Shawnee, NJ, surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Plainfield, NJ, grew up in Florham Park, NJ, and resided in Sparta, NJ, for 25 years prior to moving to Lake Shawnee, NJ. After graduation from Hanover Park High School in 1972, Kathleen received a Marketing and Business Management Degree from Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, New York City, in 1975. For the past 15 years, she worked in restaurant management and consulting. Her most recent employment was with McLoone’s Boathouse Restaurant, West Orange, NJ, until her retirement in 2020. She was a member of the St. Kateri Teckakwitha Catholic Church, Sparta, NJ. Kathleen is survived by her devoted daughter, Jacqueline Santobianco, and her husband, Daniel, Dallas, TX, her son, John Hooper and his wife, Amanda, Morris Plains, NJ, and her sister, Patricia Drew, Lebanon Township, NJ. She is also survived by her cherished grandchildren, Vincent, Dominic and a third grandson to be born in February 2022 as well as a nephew, Christopher Drew. Kathleen’s greatest pleasures were going to the beach, especially to LBI, with her children as well as shopping with her daughter, Jacqueline, and her sister, Patricia. She loved to entertain and plan parties for our families. She put her own special touch on family celebrations with her attention to detail. She loved to spend time with all her friends and family and had an infectious laugh that made everyone else laugh around her. She was the life of the party as she joked around and had fun with everyone. She loved to spend time in our family’s hometown of Sparta, NJ and Lake Mohawk in Sparta. She also loved listening to country music and went to many concerts with her friends and her sister. Kathleen was very generous with gift giving and always did everything she could for people. Towards the end of her life, she took on a passion for baking and cooking. She loved to watch cooking videos and replicate the recipes. Her children and grandchildren meant everything to her, and they were her world. She will be dearly missed but the memories she created with us will always be a part of us and, for this, we will always be grateful. Friends and family are welcome to gather on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, from 5-8 pm at Burroughs, Kohr & Dangler Funeral Home, 106 Main St., Madison, NJ. Guests are required to wear masks while indoors. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, at 10:00 am at St. Rose of Lima Church, East Hanover, NJ. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover, NJ. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations may be made in Kathleen's memory to Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, NY (mskcc.org).