TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Theron Q. Hooks 1932-2023 Retired Washington State Department of Transportation
T heron Q. Hooks (Alpha Pi 1951) entered the Chapter Invisible on April 1, 2023, at age 91. The youngest of four, Hooks was born on March 24, 1932, to George Hooks and Perchie (née Kennedy) Hooks. He was raised on his family’s farm in Tatums, OK, which is one of 13 all-Black founded towns of Oklahoma that still survive today. He attended the Tatums School K-12. After graduating high school, Hooks attended Langston University. After graduating from Langston, he moved to Wichita, KS, where he went to work for The Boeing Company. In 1968 Boeing transferred Hooks and his family to the Seattle area, where he worked at the Everett, WA plant as Boeing was delivering a different kind of aircraft, the new 747. On arrival in Seattle, Hooks and his family joined First AME Church where Theron was very,
“HOOKS WAS RAISED ON HIS FAMILY’S FARM IN TATUMS, OK, WHICH IS ONE OF 13 ALL-BLACK FOUNDED TOWNS OF OKLAHOMA THAT STILL SURVIVE TODAY.”
SuperSonics basketball games. For many years he drove the chef to do his weekly grocery shopping. Until the pandemic, he ate lunch at the Senior Center several times a week. He volunteered at the Kappa’s fundraising food stall at the Seattle Center Area during sporting events. Brother Theron Q. Hooks is survived by his son Quinton, daughter, Laneyse (Richard) and many cousins. He also leaves behind nephews and nieces - Ron (Morris); Searcy, Doug and Schonay (Millicent - until this past Monday, that list would have included Millicent’s daughter Loretta, who we lost to a stroke earlier this week); Gayle, Ella Fae, Robert, Renee and Dwayne (Steve) and a wonderful, enormous host of extended family. He is also survived by his Seattle family of choice where not all relatives are biological, but through connections of the heart. ♦
very active. He sang in the choir, worked on the finance committee, was the house photographer for decades, provided people with rides, was active on the FAME Housing Associ- ation Board and was always ready to rabble rouse or make a joke. In 1971, as Boeing went into a tailspin - “Will the last person leaving Seattle please turn out the lights” - Hooks was laid off with thousands of others and subsequently held jobs with the City of Seattle, the Model Cities program and then with the State of Washington’s Department of Transportation. He remained at DOT holding
various positions until he retired in 1987. Most of his work with the Department of Transporta- tion was based in Olympia, 60 miles south of Seattle. For the majority of the time he worked there, Theron drove a VanPool van back and forth daily, forming fast friendships with the many people who rode with him over the years. In retirement, Hooks remained active. He took water aerobics at the 23rd Street Y. He was at the Central Area Senior Center a lot - he line-danced with the Central Area Senior Center’s “Silver Steppers”
including performing at halftime at Seattle
WINTER 2024-2025 ♦ THE JOURNAL 67
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