Obituary of Myrtle Dorothy Hoopfer

In Loving Memory Of

Myrtle Hoopfer

May 12, 1936 ~ January 4, 2024

Myrtle Dorothy Hoopfer was born at Ardley, Alberta on May 12, 1936.

She was the fourth child born to Annie and Josiah Jordan; Estella, Gladys, Alan and then Myrtle.

The family purchased a farm and moved from Ardley to the Hackett area when Myrt was in grade three this was around 1943.

As a child, Myrt loved to be outside running in the fields, riding Micky (their horse), playing with her brother, or being alongside her dad helping with the farm. Myrt and Alan were full of mischief and kept their mother on her toes. One time, Myrt and Alan snuck a jar of dill pickles from the cellar and sat and ate them all. This was “war time” and people did not have much. The kids took the empty jar to their mom and said that an airplane had flown over and dropped the empty jar from the sky! Their mom knew that they had taken the jar of pickles, but only said “Oh how wonderful that you brought me the jar you found!”

Myrt attended Great Bend, Model, Zenith and Gadsby Schools. She worked for her mom at Jordan’s Drug Store while going to High School in Gadsby. Myrt had many friends, but her best friend was Dawn. They went to movies, dances, had sodas in the drug store, and shared their secrets. Dawn sang at Myrt and Dan’s wedding. You will hear the Clarke family sing today as requested by Myrt.

Myrt met the “love of her life” and married Dwayne Benjiman Hoopfer (better known as Dan). They were married in Gadsby on July 3, 1953. The young couple moved to Brooks, Alberta in the fall of that year where Dan worked in construction. Myrt and Dan welcomed their first-born son Dwayne Alan in 1954. Dan found work in Cranbrook, BC, so he moved the family there, and worked alongside his brother in-law Alan. Dan broke his back, so the family moved back to Gadsby around 1955, where he recovered. Their second son, Lawrence William was born in 1956. Next came a girl! Betty Lou was born in 1959. Soon after came another girl! Gayle Ann in 1960. They thought the family was complete with two boys and two girls, but that was not the case. Happily, they welcomed another baby girl, Cindy Mae in 1966!

Myrt taught Sunday School in Gadsby, and was active in church, community and school events. She helped her “elderly” neighbors when they needed anything, baking, washing clothes, sewing, threading needles, or going to Stettler. Myrt was the town “barber, and stylist” she would cut, perm and color neighbors and friends’ hair whenever asked. Her house was also where friends gathered for coffee and laughter.

Myrt and Dan moved to Stettler in 1967 to the house where she currently lived up to the time of her passing. She was in that house for 57 years!

Myrt’s house continued to be like a “beehive” always someone stopping in, dropping off, or picking up stuff. She always made you feel important and brightened your day. If she was not home when you stopped in there was always a handwritten note “Gone uptown – 2:15, be back in an hour.”

Myrt and Dan befriended an old neighbor of Grama and Grampa Jordan’s, Daisy. Myrt took her uptown every Thursday for 5 years. Then Myrt and Dan moved Daisy and cat Fluffy in with the family in 1973. Myrt helped and cared for Daisy for twelve plus years.

Myrt worked part time at Style Shop when Cindy started school. She did the Heart and Stroke fundraising, and Census gathering going door to door to collect donations and document data. She volunteered for:  Summer Olympics, Cancer Walk for Life, Rummage Sale, Casino, and was on the historical board for the Gadsby Church. She always donated to the Omega Circle bazar and attended Decoration Day at Gadsby Cemetery.

Myrt made dresses for her daughters for school dances, and she even made Gayle’s Graduation dress. She also sewed for the boys making Dwayne’s Graduation blazer! Myrt was very “artsy” too. She could paint pictures, play piano and guitar by ear! (That must be where Gayle got her Ukulele talent!)  She could crochet and knit; her girls will have to draw names out of the hat to see who gets the “pink” sweater she knit many years ago. It always hung behind the computer room door, and everyone put it on when they were chilly! She liked to play cards! During Covid Myrt and her son Dwayne played crib every day around 3 PM on their iPads, which was amazing how they made that work over Facetime. You did not want to stop in around 3 interrupt the crib game!  Myrt was pretty knowledgeable about how to operate her computer, iPad and cell phone! There were always loonies on the fridge from crib games with Max, Buck, Laurie and Dwayne, always $1 bet per game. Myrt and Cindy played “Spite and Mallis” regularly too! Just this last Christmas Eve, Myrt, Max and Gayle played a game of three handed crib, loonies were exchanged, and Myrt always enjoyed taking Max’s money!

Dan passed away suddenly in 1978 at age of 47. Myrt and Dan danced their last dance together just minutes before Dan died, the special song they danced to was “Kiss and Angel Good Morning” by Charlie Pride. Myrt became a widow at age 42 and had two daughters still at home, Cindy 11 and Gayle 18. She took on role of Mother and Father, fixer, and nurturer. Things were not easy for her at that time, but she managed it with grace and determination!

She was devoted to helping care for her mother and father in their Stettler house, and still went to see them every day when they moved into the Auxiliary.

Myrt started work at John’s Men’s’ Wear in 1981 as a Seamstress and worked there for approximately 30 years. She worked for all three generations of the family-owned store. She loved people and people loved her. She was not only an employee but became a great friend to the Stratulate family where she worked. Myrt retired around 2011 but continued to go in and help once in a while when needed. We think she went in last year to help with a challenging alteration!

Myrt could sew, patch or mend anything! She had a continuous drop off of jeans to mend, zippers to fix, dresses to shorten, take in or let out! She would drop everything a help Jody with curling team costumes, sewing, gluing and cutting!

Myrt did not graduate from High School but was determined to get her high school equivalency and did accomplish that goal in 1985.

Myrt helped her children and grandchildren by babysitting for them one or two days a week. She was a “day home” to Brett, Derek, Dylan, Jackson, Kaden and Hudson. Also, if you needed to drop a child off for an hour or so while you got your hair done or pick up groceries her door and arms were always open. She was still doing this last summer when she watched baby Tate for a bit! She always wanted to feed you or send food home with you. It was sometimes hard to get out of her door as she was running around to find “something” of hers that you must need to take with you! Many of her grandchildren and great grandchildren stayed at Myrt’s house regularly after sport practices and games. The outside light was always on, and her beds and kitchen were always open!

Myrt loved her sports, but mostly baseball and curling. The Toronto Blue Jays were her favorite, but she would watch any ball game that came on TV. She loved to watch her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren play sports as well, but she was not crazy about soccer! She went with Dwayne and Ann to a couple of Mariner games in Seattle and Spring Training games to watch the Diamondbacks in Arizona.

Myrt loved to bake sweets and make bread. She made “Grama Jordan’s’ Buttermilk Cookies for grandchild and great grandchildren for Christmas each year! You should see the recipe in her memorial card! She made all kinds of preserves and shared how to make each one.

She taught us so much, everything we are, was influenced by her in some way. She knew most anything, and we would call her for guidance on any subject.

She taught us how to “hide” the potatoes and plant them the right way up! How to make a bed properly and hang clothes on the line so they were straight and orderly. She always shared the “right” way to drive up town from her house. She was highly organized and knew where everything was. Her dresser drawers were immaculate, and items were folded perfectly. Underwear had a boxed off area in the drawer and was folded “just so”! She could also fix things around the house as they needed done. Myrt had a green thumb which you could tell by her many house plants and loved her garden and raspberries.

Myrt loved the sunshine and going to Arizona with Aunty Estella, Uncle Dode, and Dorothy to see Dallas and Faye. She went to Casa Grande once with Dwayne and Ann as well. She went to Hawaii in 1982 with Aunty Tuffet, Uncle Johnny, Gayle and Cindy. She also travelled to Nova Scotia a couple of times with her mom, dad, brother and sister in-law!  She loved the heat but would not go in the water. She did not like water. She said she almost drowned as a child and could still remember music playing until her dad grabbed her out of the water and saved her.

Myrt also loved music, she loved all the old country artists, but her favorite was Charlie Pride. She went to over twelve live performances the last being in Red Deer just before Charlie Pride passed away. She even dreamt that she and Charlie were driving around in a red convertible, and when Dan found out, he was upset, of course this was just a dream!

Myrt loved April Fools and was forever trying to pull one over on someone. She called Betty Lou once and told her that Cindy was coming out and ran off the road, so would Jim go rescue her, when Jim started to go, he looked up the road and could not see anything, then he remembered the date…she got him.  But then Jim got her back and later called Myrt and said that he lost a calf while going to get Cindy. She felt so bad and was going to purchase a new calf. Jim said, “No please do not…April fools…back at you Myrt!”  One time she got Max as well. The curling was on in England at 4 AM, Myrt called Max and asked him to come in and pick her up because she could not get the game on her TV. Max tried to think of a reason he could not get her, he could not, so he willingly told her he would be right in, Myrt started to giggle on the other end and Max realized the date, she got him too! One April Fools Cindy schemed with the Owner of the grocery store to April fool Myrt. Cindy called her mom, told her that she forgot her wallet, and could she come and pay for her groceries. So of course, up to the store Myrt went, and when Myrt asked the owner how much she owed, he had that “look” in his eye, and she knew she had been April fooled!

Myrt had a great sense of humor and enjoyed hearing and telling jokes. She usually messed the joke up and told the punch line first, but we would still ask her to tell us the joke no matter what.

Myrt loved her family and friends, and spent her life dedicated to each one. She was friends with everyone. Special friends:  Jim & Mary Jane, Cindy, Launa & Collin and Pearl just to mention a few…you know who you are. She was considered “my other mom” to our friends as well. She always put others first no matter what.

Myrt was a “touchy” lady, and always reached her hand out to comfort or greet you. She hugged and kissed everyone. We told her that she needed to stop kissing and hugging everyone when “covid” came and that was hard for her to do!

Myrt was very independent and did not want to bother anyone. She was beautiful, strong, happy, sweet, sassy, full of mischief, always smiling and never complaining, right up to the time of her passing.  Grama stayed in her own home right up to going to Stettler Hospice on January 2, 2024.

Myrt had a growth on her lung but was never diagnosed with Cancer. Over the past year she gradually slowed down, and recent months became weaker and had quite a lot of pain under her “wing” as she described it. The last couple of months she went to see Doctor Elizma every 2 weeks to manage her pain.  She loved doctor Elizma! We think pain or no pain, Mom was going to see Doctor Elizma! The family is very thankful for doctors Elizma and Pieter Bouwer and for their loving care of Mom! 

Myrt stayed overnight this past Christmas Eve with Max and Gayle, then went on to spend the day with Betty Lou’s family at Alison’s. Cindy and Kevin picked her up, they stopped at Laurie’s to say hi and then was delivered safely back to her home on Christmas night. She had a busy couple of days, but she loved every minute.

Myrt was not cheap but not wasteful, she only had what she needed, nothing more, nothing less.  Her wealth was the people and love around her.  Each of us hold her in our hearts and will never forget the touch of her hand, and the smile on her face.

Myrtle is survived by her children:  Laurie (Donna) Hoopfer of Stettler, AB, Betty Lou (Jim) Muhlbach of Stettler, AB, Gayle (Max) McMillan of Botha, AB, and Cindy (Kevin) Falkenberg of Stettler, AB; daughter-in-law Ann Hoopfer of Calgary, AB; grandchildren:  Shane (Debbie) Hoopfer, Travis (Richelle) Hoopfer, Krista (Todd) Schlender, Kenton (Kathy) Hoopfer, Jamie (Jody) Muhlbach, Alison (Chris) Norman, Jennifer Muhlbach (Chance), Brett Muhlbach, Derek (Taryn) Muhlbach, Dylan (Taylor) Muhlbach, Buck (Tannis) McMillan, Jessie (Aarron) Marshall, Taylor (Matt) Wilfort, and Daniel Falkenberg (Brittany); thirty-three great grandchildren; sister-in-law Rae Jordan of Calgary, AB; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and many special friends.

Myrtle was predeceased by her husband Dan Hoopfer, son Dwayne Hoopfer, mother and father Annie and Si Jordan, sisters Estella Haeberle and Gladys Heer, brother Alan Jordan.

A Celebration Of Life

Stettler Funeral Home, Stettler, Alberta

Friday, January 19, 2024 at 11:00 A.M.

Donations in memory of Myrt are gratefully accepted to the Alberta Heart & Stroke Foundation or to the Stettler Hospice Society.