Retiree Wayne “Edgar” Hooper, of Wheeling, West Virginia, died on Friday, Dec. 4, at Wheeling Hospital. He was 75. Edgar was born August 18, 1940 in St. Marys, West Virginia, the son of the late Denzel Wayne Hooper and Mildred Evelyn Shingleton Hooper. He graduated from St. Marys High School and attended West Virginia University, where he earned a master’s degree in agriculture education.
Edgar began his 36-year career with the WVU Extension Service in 1967. Over the years, he worked with 4-H youths in the 4-H Dairy Genetics Project, land judging and cattle judging. He organized educational programs within the agricultural community for improving production and helped local farmers set up trial pots and collect information for research purposes. Edgar worked in Ohio County until his first retirement in 1999, then worked part time in Marshall County until his second retirement in 2011. He served on the Agriculture Program Advisory Committee and the Ohio County Country Fair Committee, was a member of the Ohio-Brooke County Farm Bureau, and served in an advisory capacity to the Northern Panhandle Dairy Herd Information Association, The Northern District Holstein Club and the Tri-State Beekeepers Association. Throughout his life, he received 32 national awards including being inducted into the National Association of County Agricultural Agents’ Hall of Fame.
Edgar is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Annabelle “Ann” Sheets Hooper; two sons, two brothers, two sisters, six grandchildren, a great granddaughter, and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services were held on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at First Baptist Church in Wheeling; interment followed in Greenwood Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the 4-H WVU Extension Service, Ohio County Office, 51 16th Street, Room 301, Wheeling, WV 26003. Personal condolences may be offered to the family at www.kepnerfuneral.com.
