John "Jack" Wright Hooley

Jack (John Wright) Hooley Jack Hooley died peacefully on July 30 at the age of 90. He was one of the most innovative grocers of his generation, leading the change in the Minnesota food industry from corner groceries to supermarkets to warehouse food superstores. After growing the family business of small grocery providers into Hooley’s Supermarkets, a longtime presence in downtown Stillwater, he and his brother Charles Hooley, along with Culver Davis, and Robert Thueson, founded Cub Foods warehouse markets. He served as CEO until his retirement in 1985. For his contributions to the industry, Jack was named Minnesota Grocer of the Year in 1985 and in 1994 was admitted into the Minnesota Grocers’ Hall of Fame. He served on several boards, including the Firstar Corporation Board of Directors, Lakeview Hospital Board of Directors, the St. Michael’s Catholic Church Board of Directors, and a number of local charities, to which he was a generous contributor. He was also recognized with numerous awards for his professional, charitable, and volunteer work. He was a lifelong member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church. Jack was born to Matthew and Alva Hooley on October 31, 1925. He attended Stillwater High School, where he was quarterback of the football team and class president. He earned his BA from St. Thomas College in 1945. During the Second World War, he served as navigator on a Navy submarine chaser. In 1949 he married the love of his life Joyce Hadrath, and they shared 64 years of happy marriage until her death in 2013. With their many close friends, they enjoyed parties, bridge, dinners, conversation, laughter, and travel, sometimes to the far corners of the globe. Jack particularly enjoyed family adventures, gatherings, and annual Thanksgiving celebrations shared with the families of his five children in Florida. All his life, he remained close to his siblings Jean, Dorothy, Marge, Charles, and Tom. A better golfer than he would ever admit, he also enjoyed running, backpacking, tennis, and skiing. His legendary crashes on the slopes notwithstanding, Jack was, in fact, a natural athlete and took to sports with enviable ease and grace. He had a delightful sense of fun and a blazingly quick wit. But kindness and generosity were his hallmark virtues. He seemed constitutionally unable to say no to anyone in need, and it was never a surprise when someone would approach Jack with warm thanks for some past kindness: he touched a great many lives. Children, and dogs too, often the best judges of character, found him irresistible. Until the very end of his days, even while affected by a blessedly brief period of memory loss, he remained his kind, witty, life-embracing self. Those who knew him will not forget his warm smile, ready laugh, and big, big heart. Jack was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce; and his sisters, Jean and Dorothy. He is survived by his siblings, Marge, Charles, and Tom; his five children, Dan (Mary), John (Colleen), Michael (Amy), Shannon (Michael) Enright, and Tom (Patty); his grandchildren, Ben (Laurie), Matthew (Mary Mullen), Meghan (Brian) Scelfo, Ryan, Kate (Justin) Moser, Joe, Ted, Kevin, Erin (Joe) Zauner, Patrick, Bridget (Mark) Kuhl, Maggie, Mary, and Andrew, Danny, and Eleanor Enright; and great-grandchildren, Ella, Will, Jack, Amelia, Catherine, and Mac. Memorials may be sent to the Stillwater Area Foundation, St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Stillwater, or Lakeview Hospice.

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