Catholic couple recount a love —that wasn’t supposed to last

Hedy Hooper’s father wrote her future husband, Delbert Hooper, a letter asking him to forget about her adding: “It will never last.” This year, the couple will celebrate 65 years of marriage.

She remembers the day she met Delbert like it was yesterday.

“I was basically chaperoned by my brother and his fiancée,” she laughed. “Delbert and I knew instantly we wanted to see each other again, but we had to do so in secret because my parents did not approve of my seeing an American soldier.”

Hedy and her family were native Germans, and although Delbert was stationed there at the time, her parents knew the sometimes-transient life of a soldier meant marriage could be difficult. They eventually learned about the forbidden relationship and hired an English translator to write Delbert a letter telling him Hedy would no longer be able to see him.

“Well, my family felt like we had so many differences, too many for a happy marriage, including the fact he was a Baptist, and I was Catholic,” Hedy explained. “They told my husband to stay away from me, that our relationship would not lead to anything. So, we split up for a little while during my last year of high school in Germany.”

She recalls a trip to visit a Jesuit priest in her hometown of Bad-Nauheim, Germany, where the priest told her if she really loved Delbert, the only choice she had was to follow her heart. After a long talk with her parents, they finally approved and gave their blessing to be married.

Meanwhile, Delbert Hooper kept busy learning more about the Catholic faith.

“I truly loved what I was learning,” he said. “But Hedy’s father was concerned I was becoming a Catholic for the wrong reasons. I knew in my heart that was not true. We were meant to be married, and I knew it from the beginning.”
After becoming Catholic, Delbert met with Hedy’s father to announce his intentions with an engagement ring he purchased at the Army Exchange in Germany.

“I imagined myself proposing to Hedy in a romantic setting, but her father took the ring from me and announced he would hold it for me until I was ready to propose in front of the family’s shrine at their home. It was beautifully adorned with a crucifix and many family photos. It ended up being perfect,” he recalled.

The couple was married in the Catholic Church in Hedy’s hometown on Nov. 4, 1957. Delbert, 23, and Hedy, 20, moved to the United States shortly after, arriving in New York City, where Delbert was honorably discharged from the Army. They drove straight to Quanah, Texas, Delbert’s hometown, to start their lives together.

After finishing college in Abilene several years later, Delbert received two teaching job offers: one in Alaska and the other in Corpus Christi. By 1960 the couple had three young sons: Benedict, Christopher and Phillip. Their second-born son is J.C. Hooper, Nueces County Sheriff.

“I didn’t have enough money to move our young family to Alaska, so I decided on Corpus Christi,” he said.

For anyone considering the sacrament of marriage, Hedy’s advice is simple: “Be ready for some good times and some rough times,” she quipped. “As long as you keep God at the center of everything, He will see you through.”
Delbert added: “I advise young people getting married to stay involved with the Church. I believe many graces were extended to us over the years because we stayed active in the Church, teaching religious education and marriage preparation classes.”

Parishioners at St. Pius X for the last 27 years, Delbert Hooper will never forget the marriage advice given to him by Hedy’s father on their wedding day 65 years ago: “Don’t forget God’s little Mother. We took that advice to heart throughout all our years together.”