Daniel Hookstead lost his 10-year-battle with Lyme disease on Aug. 29, 2014. He is now out of pain and in peace.
Dan was born in Fort Atkinson Hospital to DeWight and Sibylla Hookstead on June 30, 1955.
He was a Whitewater High School Graduate and loved every minute of being a football defensive player (defensive player of the year as a senior) and being a wrestler. He went one year to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and while there, received an opportunity for a carpenter apprenticeship with the union in Janesville.
He chose to leave college and enter the field of construction, which he stayed with for 30 years. He lived his life always creating things, building structures from the ground up, or remodeling old to make usable and newer. He tried to re-establish the 70-acre-woods on the family farm by clearing brush, cutting deadfalls, and planting 11,000 trees by hand … with help from many nature loving friends and family.
He had been a proud business owner with his wife Kathy, of Dark Acres Pheasant Hunts out in Cold Spring.
Dan is leaving behind, to remember the great man he was, his loving (and patient) wife, Kathy Pope-Hookstead, daughter of Gordy and Rosie Peyer; sons, Ryan (Teresa) Pope and Anson (Sarah) Pope; and daughter, Jennifer Marie Hookstead of St. Paul, Minn.
His four beautiful grandchildren, Madisyn and Logan will miss their “Boppa” and Hailey and Lily will miss their Grandpa.
Dan’s siblings are Jackie (Steve) Brahmstadt, the late Veronica West, Steve (Sue), Gary (Pam), Jeff (Rita), John (Kelly), and Chris Hookstead.
He had many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and in-laws. He had many close friends that could never all be mentioned, but Charlie and Karen, Jerry, Bob, and Phil and Teri, you were a constant in his life and helped him talk out his problems and pain. It so helped him get through really tough times.
We are now all hurting because of what Lyme disease did to Dan, and pray that he knows all the Love we had for him. If we could have taken away the pain, we would have.
Special thanks to all Dan’s medical staff at Serenity Health Care Clinic in Waukesha, Mercy Health Systems, and Lindsley Chiropractic in Bloomer, and UW-Healthcare in Madison.
There will be a celebration of Dan being part of our lives from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Nitardy Funeral Home, 550 N. Newcomb St., Whitewater. Casual dress and jeans with boots are very acceptable in honor of Dan and his daily attire.
