Edna Dalluge Hooper was born March 16, 1933, to Wilhelm and Opal Cox Dalluge, in Tulia, Texas, the fourth of eleven children. She attended elementary school at Elkins County School seven miles east of Tulia where she was often the only student in her grade. This gave her the opportunity to cover two grades in one year, and she started high school in Tulia at twelve years old. After graduation at sixteen, Edna worked for a year at Tulia Floral to secure funds for college. She enrolled at Abilene Christian College in Abilene, Texas. After working one more year as a secretary for the Extension Service in Tulia, she returned to ACC to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. After graduation, Edna returned to Tulia and was employed by the Swisher County School District where she taught first and second grade for twelve years.
While teaching in Tulia, Edna began dating a former classmate who had just returned from service in Korea with the United States Marine Corp, Bobby Warren Hooper. Their friendship quickly grew into a deeper relationship, and they were married on January 5, 1957. They were blessed with the birth of a daughter, Sara Loraine Hooper, on October 14, 1957.
In 1966, the Hoopers moved to Battle Mountain, Nevada, to take advantage of a government land program called Desert Land Entry. Bobby developed four sections of land near Battle Mountain, while Edna was employed as kindergarten teacher in Battle Mountain. In 1969, Edna spent a year at the University of Nevada-Reno, and earned a Masters of Education degree in Reading and Special Education. She returned to Battle Mountain to implement a Special Education Program for Lander County School District.
On February 11, 1971, Bobby, Edna, and Sara were overjoyed to welcome to their family, a son Robert Benjamin Hooper. Edna taught several different grades over the years and then finished her career as Reading Specialist for Lander County. She often said her greatest achievement was learning a focus technique for students with dyslexia that enabled them to read at a competent level. She was very grateful to the Lander County administrators who permitted her to work with individual students to achieve this. Edna retired in 1997 after forty-two years as a teacher.
Edna is survived by her daughter, Sara Petrey (Greg) Fort Worth, Texas; son, Robert Hooper (Bridget) Battle Mountain; granddaughter, Kacie Nix (Paul) Haltom City, Texas; granddaughter, Kodie Rabroker (Justin), Carrollton, Texas; sisters: Frankie Bills, Lubbock, Texas; Martha Rodriquez (Sonny) San Antonio, Texas; Virginia Dell, Wildomar, California; brothers: Jeff Dalluge (Shirley) Tulia, Texas; Dennis Dalluge, San Antonio, Texas; great-grandchildren: Mykenzie, Bryanna, and Derrick Nix, Haltom City, Texas; numerous nieces, nephews, and brother and sister-in-laws.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Opal and Wilhelm Dalluge; husband Bobby Warren Hooper; sisters Loraine Dalluge and Roselyn Wright; brothers, Clyde Wayne Dalluge, Richard Dalluge, and Joe Dalluge.
Edna was a founding member of the First Baptist Church of Battle Mountain, holding numerous offices through the years. Funeral services will be held at the church with internment following at the Battle Mountain Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be given to Battle Mountain Public Library or First Baptist Church Battle Mountain.
