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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
HOOPER, Archibald Laird - was born in Murray River, Prince Edward Island on Boxing Day in 1919 to Leonard and May (Bowles) Hooper; and died peacefully on March 30, 2022, at age 102 at Sunnybrook Veterans Centre in Toronto. Brother to four sisters: Hilda, Florence (Flossie), Elva and Phyllis; Laird was the last of this generation. He left PEI as a young man to serve Canada in the Merchant Marine and Navy during World War II on ships that ran between Newfoundland and Derry, Ireland. To the end he could sing a few old songs and loved to laugh when he told stories, a favorite being one about the woman who tended the local still hidden in the woods near his family home in Murray River during the prohibition years. Independent in spirit, Laird loved his many cats at his home in Toronto in a small neighborhood off the Danforth called The Pocket, which was his community. He worked many years for Imperial Oil. In the last decades of his long life, he enjoyed the love of his family, particularly his nephew, Donald MacPherson (Landon Mackenzie); and great-niece, Georgia Mackenzie-MacPherson; who developed a special bond with the last of the Hooper elders. Laird's family is grateful to relatives through marriage, especially Leslie Chambers (D'Arcy Mackenzie) for their caring and timely support with the transition from his home to a good life at Sunnybrook Veterans Centre. There, Laird spent the last six years of his life in the excellent care and good humour of the wonderful staff team of the K2C unit. Laird also leaves behind nieces and nephews, including Nancy MacPherson of New York; and great nieces and nephews, including Cluny and Jeffryn in BC; and Melissa, Diane and James in PEI; as well as good friends, Al and Lynda Sellen in Ontario. Laird was cremated in the Beaches area of his adopted city of Toronto and in August 2022 his ashes will be scattered in the Atlantic Ocean off Prince Edward Island. (The Globe and Mail 23 Apr 2022)
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