Lifelong Shell Rock resident, enthusiastic Irishwoman, and ardent devotee to the Cause, Laura Jean "Bitsy" Hooker, 96, passed away early Sunday after a long, ultimately unsuccessful battle against pyelonephritis.
Bitsy graduated from Shell Rock High School in 1928 and was set to marry her sweetheart, Rodney Zombrowski, until he was killed in the Black Tuesday stock market crash. During World War II, Bitsy and her sisters formed the regionally popular girl singing group The Hooker Triplets, in an effort to buoy the soldiers' spirits, as well as educate their fellow Shell Rockers on the importance of not wearing hosiery ("Make-Believe Stockings") and forgoing meat ("Boogie Woogie Tuna Boy"). But after the Armistice, rural Iowans largely forgot about this one-time singing sensation, leaving Bitsy's sisters to wed and Bitsy to focus on her chosen career in library etiquette.
The next stage of Bitsy's life was filled largely with watching birds from her childhood bedroom (which remained her home until the day she passed), shopping at Discount Heaven Mall Barn, writing long letters to her far-flung nieces and nephews, and collecting. Over the years, Bitsy forged friendships with many patient library-goers who appeared to share her interests in bits of paper, old boxes, string, scribble, reminiscing, fearing change, talking about the old times, looking outside, and, in later years, bridge.
Bitsy is survived by her sister Ruby Eldridge, nieces Jennifer Baeret, Deborah Lilley, and Theresa Seebrusker, and nephews Allen Eldridge, Irvin Lancaster, and Oliver Lancaster. We'll miss you, Aunty!
A memorial service will be held next weekend at the Hobby Shack, on Larkspur Road in between Kitty! A Place for Cats and the Old Meatball Mill. Friends are encouraged to bring remembrances and share stories of Bitsy. Punch and cookies will be made available after.
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