Donald Lepaul "DON" Hooks

Called “Don” by his friends and those who loved him, Donald Le Paul Hooks was the second child from the union of John Melvin and Irma (DeLoach) Hooks. He was born in Detroit, Michigan on June 19, 1953. Donald spent his early formative years before attending school as a curious, but cautious child. A student of the Detroit Public School System, Don attended the Fitzgerald Elementary school, and Post Junior High School, where he graduated as the Class President. An exceptional student, he was forced to decline a scholarship to attend Cranbrook Institute in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan due to lack of transportation. He graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1971 with a diploma in Chem-Bio. The summer before attending college, he used his exceptional IQ, to create his own dictionary of approximately 1500 words including his own definitions, and he treated mathematics like the A,B,C’s- an area in which he really excelled.

Don attended Western Michigan University where he worked as an Assistant Dorm Director, and graduated in 1975 with a B.A. in Business. While working a series of different jobs, Don also attended Law School at Wayne State University for approximately a year before concluding law was not for him.

Always looking for opportunities for advancement, Don worked a series of different and challenging occupations. Over the years he worked as a butcher for the Farmer Jacks grocery chain, and a management member for State Farm Insurance Co. He worked as a driver for the United Postal Services, and as a security guard for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Plant. He also worked with juveniles as a Probation Officer at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, and as a prison guard for the state of Michigan. His final job, and the one he was most proud of was as a Space Planner for the Internal Revenue Services.

Don was an obsessive reader, but not all for work. He loved the library, but, during his early years he also loved skating, and enjoyed playing pickup basketball. He was a lover of music, especially R&B, and anything from Motown. As a young man, fastidious, and creative in his dress, he was a regular at the Northland, and the Arena skating rinks. With regularity he could be found there every Friday and Saturday nights.

Don departed this life on August 9, 2021, and leaves to cherish his fond memories his daughter Jada, his three grandchildren: Dillan, Miyon, and Faith, and the long-time love of his life Toni Boatwright, and her children; his parents: Irma D. Hooks, John Melvin and Genethe Hooks, his brother: John Milton Hooks, (Lynn), step-siblings: Susan Williams (DeWayne),Willie Slater, April Slater, and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends.