KENNEBUNK – Karl Sidney Hooper, 84, of Kennebunk passed away Dec. 31, 2023.

Born March 1, 1939, in Kennebunkport to Inez (Pike) and Sydney Hooper. He was proud to call the Kennebunks his home for his entire life.

At the age of 16, Karl took a job working for Marier’s Men’s Shop in Dock Square. He continued to work there until purchasing Kennebunk’s Marier’s Men’s Shop in 1967. In that store, Karl first met his beloved wife of 55 years, Marlene “Mickie” Winn Hooper when she came in to get shoes for her little sister. Karl was a fixture on Main Street for over 60 years and enjoyed the honorary title of Mayor of Main Street. Many of his happiest memories included working with his wife, daughters and beloved employees in that little shop where he created a welcoming atmosphere for all who entered. His store was a hub for the community and Hooper was always happy to share some news, a joke or just spin a yarn. His favorite stories to tell were those of his memories during the fires of ‘47 when he evacuated with his mother to Portsmouth, N.H. and watched the smoke rise from Maine with his grandfather at the Dewitt Hotel or the ‘57 fire where he volunteered alongside all the members of his senior class to help protect the town from burning again. Main Street was never quite the same after he retired.

Citizenship was important to Hooper as demonstrated by the 2011 award of the Paul Harris Fellow presented by the Rotarians. He took great pride in being a volunteer firefighter for Kennebunk, as well as playing taps on the trumpet as a teen for Memorial Day parades, and later marching with his fellow Veterans. The United States government drafted Karl to serve in the U.S. Army and he completed a tour in Korea in the early ’60s. Karl was also a 65-year member of the Arundel Masons where he was a Past Master, and a Kora Shriner, and a member and past director of the Royal Order of Jesters. He spent many happy years riding the streets of Maine in his little yellow Renegade car with some of his closest and dearest friends including Richard V. Bibber with whom he shared a lifelong friendship.

However, his greatest moments were the times he spent with Mickie and his girls Kellie Hooper-Bressler and Kricket Hooper Dakers. Whether attending/participating in a parade, working the store, attending a function or visiting with friends and family they were almost always together. Those who knew him could depend on him as a friend, an uncle, a boss, father and husband to offer a joke, a smile and some sage advice.

Karl Hooper leaves behind his beloved wife Mickie; daughter, Kellie and husband Marty, his daughter, Kricket and husband Hugh; his cousin, Shirley (Pillsbury) L’Heureux and family; sister-in-law, Joyce Winn; dozens of nieces and nephews from Kennebunk to California; and all the many, many friends he made while making a life in this little town he loved so keenly.

Friends may call on Sunday, Jan. 7  from 4-7  p.m., at Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk, with a Masonic Service to be held at 6:30 p.m. A funeral service will be held on Monday, Jan. 8 at 11 a.m., at the Funeral Home. Interment will be at Hope Cemetery in the spring.

To share a memory or leave a message of condolence please visit Karl’s Book of Memories Page at http://www.bibberfuneral.com.

Arrangements are in the care of Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer Street, Kennebunk, ME 04043.

If inclined memorial donations can be made in Karl’s memory to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children, 516 Carew St., Springfield, MA 01104 or a charity that speaks to your heart.