William H. Hooke

William H. “Bill” Hooke, 81, of Carlisle, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, surrounded by his family. He was born October 15, 1939, in Carlisle to the late William H. Sr. and Vivian B. (Shoemaker) Hooke. He was known throughout his life for his generosity and kindness, his sense of humor, his keen intellect, and his strong love for and devotion to his family.
Bill had a strong work ethic. He began working at the age of 5 and worked up until the day before he died. He attended Lebanon Valley College and studied agriculture before deciding to join his father in the real estate business in 1962. From the very beginning, Bill was passionate about real estate. He founded multiple real estate brokerages with his father and developed single family homes, apartments, mobile home parks, and hotels, many of which he owned and operated with his longtime partner of 56 years, Kurt Suter. In 2003, he founded Hooke Hooke and Eckman Realtors with his son David and partners. Bill was very generous with his time and resources, and he touched many lives, from new agents starting out in business, to Vietnamese refugees, to people in need in the Carlisle area. Our community was important to Bill. He contributed regularly to 17 different organizations in Carlisle and the surrounding areas, such as the Carlisle Family YMCA, the United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County, Camp Thompson, Project LampLight, and The Bosler Memorial Library. Bill loved spending time at the Jersey shore and at his cabin in Tioga County where he enjoyed the outdoors with his family. He also loved spending winters in Florida, where he had lived for several years with his parents as a child. Bill was passionate about genealogy and spent many years researching the history of the Hooke, Rhinesmith, and Shoemaker families. Bill seemed to have a never-ending thirst for knowledge and was an avid reader of biographies and other non-fiction. In his later years, Bill’s Christian faith became very important to him, and he developed a regular prayer life and a relationship with God.
Surviving are Bill’s wife Brenda Hammer Hooke with whom he shared a loving 21 year relationship; three children, Kathleen (husband Paul Stanton) Hooke of Washington DC, William (wife Kristin Bountress) Hooke III of Los Angeles, CA, and David W. (wife Jenny) Hooke of Carlisle; six grandchildren, Theo Hooke, Kimberly Stanton, Caitlin Donovan Maloney, and Henry, Samuel, and Oliver Hooke; two great-grandchildren, Alison and Cora Maloney; two step-children, Richard (wife Julie) Hammer of Middletown and Andrea Gebhart of Elizabethtown; four step-grandchildren, Brittney Murphy, Jackie Neal, Rachael Hammer, and Richie J. Hammer; and one step-great-grandson, Jacob Murphy. In addition to his parents, Bill was preceded in death by his daughter, Mary Kate Hooke Donovan Joslin.
Services will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 25, 2021, at The Meeting House Church Carlisle, 1155 Walnut Bottom Road Carlisle, PA 17015. Burial will be private and held at the convenience of the family at Mt. Zion Cemetery at Churchtown. A viewing will be held from 3:00 p.m. until the time of the service on Wednesday at the church.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Hoffman Funeral Home and Crematory, 2020 West Trindle Road Carlisle, PA 17013. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to either of the following organizations in Bill’s name:
-The United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County: 145 S Hanover St. Carlisle, PA. 17013
-Project LampLight: 977 Walnut Bottom Rd. Carlisle, PA. 17015 | Contact Rodger Diehl: rodgerdiehl01@gmail.com (a local nonprofit to serve people in need)
To sign the guestbook, please visit www.HoffmanFH.com.