Arnold Gray Hooper
May 20, 1936 - September 12, 2025
Penobscot and Winchester, TN -
Arnold Gray Hooper passed away on September 12, 2025. He was born in Castine, Maine, on May 20, 1936, to Roy and Violet Hooper.
He spent his youth in Brooksville, except for a 7-month stay in Pasadena, California. \After graduation from Brooksville High School, he joined the U.S. Air Force, serving in California and Iceland. He served as a radar operator on RC-121 Constellations, flying patrol missions on the West Coast. His love of airplanes continued throughout his life, culminating at the Trenton Airport, where his wife, Althea, treated him to a ride in a glider. After a roller coaster ride over Penobscot Bay, he declared that ride the most fun he had ever had in his life.
In 1958 he returned to Maine, where he married Althea Bridges of Penobscot. They enjoyed 67 years of love and companionship. They moved to Wiscasset while he worked as an apprentice machinist at Bath Iron Works. During that time, he also took at-home courses in electronics. In 1962 this extra training led to him being hired by IBM, where he worked for 29 years as a customer engineer repairing business machines and computers throughout the state. After retirement, he and Althea returned to Penobscot, where they renovated Althea's family home.
Arnold was creative. He enjoyed woodworking and built much of the furniture at their home. He excelled at photography and had several photo-essays published in magazines such as Yankee, DownEast, and Audubon. He also carved birds and made toys for his grandchildren.
Arnold was predeceased by his beloved wife, Althea; brother, Alton; and daughter-in-law, Rebecca Hooper. He is survived by his daughter, Kathy (Thomas) Prince of Winchester, TN; and son, Stephen Hooper of Vienna, ME; grandchildren, Traver (Katherine) Prince, Pelatiah (Emily) Prince, and Clarissa Hooper; and great-grandchildren, Parker Thomas Prince and Claire Marie Prince.
Condolences may be expressed at jordanfernald.com.
Send Flowers: When Is the Ordering Deadline?
ANY DAY OF THE WEEK
Order any time up till the day before
MON-FRI Order by 2:00PM
SAT & SUN Order by noon
TUES-SAT
Order by 3:00PM
The day before
SAT & SUN Order by Saturday
Note: These are general guidelines; some florists may not be able to operate within these timelines. During peak periods such as Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day and most holidays, florists are not always able to keep up to demand. Tribute will contact you if there are any issues.
No Events Scheduled At This Time
Send Flowers: When Is the Ordering Deadline?
ANY DAY OF THE WEEK
Order any time up till the day before
MON-FRI Order by 2:00PM
SAT & SUN Order by noon
TUES-SAT
Order by 3:00PM
The day before
SAT & SUN Order by Saturday
Note: These are general guidelines; some florists may not be able to operate within these timelines. During peak periods such as Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day and most holidays, florists are not always able to keep up to demand. Tribute will contact you if there are any issues.
Plant a tree: How does it work
When your purchase is complete, a post will be made on the tribute wall of the deceased signifying the planting of a memorial tree.
An official certificate recognizing your purchase will be included with your email receipt. You can then forward the email to the family or print it and give it to them personally.
After an order is placed, our forestry partners will plant the tree in the area of greatest need (nearest the funeral home), according to the planting schedule for the year.
Due to seasonal conditions, the tree planting takes place during the spring and summer.
Tree Planting Timeline
Orders placed in:
January - May
Planting will take place in Spring or Summer of the same year.
June - December
Planting will take place in Spring of the following year.
Hide Detail
To download this photo, the file name must have less than 255 characters. If you are having trouble, click Save Image As and rename the file to meet the character requirement and try again.