BRANDON — Shelly Jean (Baker) Hooker, 62, passed away on July 16, 2022, at her home, surrounded by her loving family, after a long, tenacious, and courageous battle with cancer.
Shelly was born on October 11, 1959, in Springfield, Ma, to Ray and Marilyn Baker. For a short time during her childhood, her family moved to Middletown Springs, Vt, to be near family before returning to Ludlow, Ma, where she and her sisters were raised.
Shelly graduated from Ludlow High School in 1977. Throughout high school until 1979, Shelly’s love of animals led her to work as a small animal vet tech at Boston Road Animal Clinic. She also worked for a short time at a nursing home.
In 1979, she became the first woman hired at a local insulation company to install batt and blown-in insulation and was running her own crew within six months.
Shelly’s lifelong passion for horses began in 4-H. Throughout her youth, summertime was filled with horse shows.
In 1980, she moved to live with John and Linda Crossman in Ira, Vt, and began working as a milk tester for Vermont Dairy Herd Improvement Association until 1985. During this time, she and Linda continued to show horses together.
In 1981, Shelly won the Miss Vermont Rodeo America title and traveled to Oklahoma City to compete in Nationals, an accomplishment, and adventure that forever held a special place in her heart and memories. She continued to compete in horse shows until motherhood captured her time.
While working as a milk tester for VDHIA, Shelly also bartended part-time at the Hilltop Tavern in Pittsford. It is here where she met the love of her life, Donny Hooker. The spark was instant. As she recalls, “I picked him up, took and home, and never let him go.”
Their mutual love for dancing (and good times) kept that spark lit bright throughout their 36 years together. They settled in a cabin on Lake Dunmore Road for nearly 16 years, where they raised their children, Perry and Taress.
In 1988, Patricia’s Restaurant, a.k.a. Sully’s Place, officially opened, and Shelly was hired as a server, earning the notoriety of becoming one of the original “Sully’s Girls.” After years on the floor, behind the bar, and everywhere else in the restaurant, she began mastering the art of cooking for the masses.
She loved to cook and enjoyed learning Sully’s secrets; they shared a unique connection all their own. Over the years, the Sully’s Girl’s crew came and went, but the bonds formed sharing life’s milestones while helping raise each other’s children along with many good times lasted a lifetime.
While working at Sully’s, Shelly obtained her CDL license and drove a school bus part-time. She loved the OV kids and made the ride to and from school ‘Rockin,’’ (as she put it) filled with music and singing.
She realized that she enjoyed driving a big rig and, in 2003, was hired as a driver for Markowski Excavating, Inc.
Shelly loved driving a tri-axle dump truck and earned the respect of coworkers as a hard-working woman who could “drive a truck” and wasn’t afraid to run a shovel either.
She was appreciative of how welcoming and accepting her co-workers were. She said she never felt discriminated against or held back because she was a woman.
While she says she was not an ‘operator’ of heavy equipment, she was excited to be given opportunities to ‘play with’ (run) excavators, loaders, and bulldozers.
Over the last 19 years, the Markowski family wholly supported Shelly and her family in any way possible throughout her fight with cancer. She said they were amazing to her, and she was truly thankful for all they did.
Shelly loved coffee. She loved to read and to ‘reinvent’ furniture. She loved to dance. But, most of all, she loved watching her grandchildren grow and spent time engaging with them by doing the things they loved the most, whether arts and crafts, riding horses, or playing with trucks.
She was especially thankful to Lexi Rosen, who, over the last several years, allowed her to do one of the things she loved most and get back into horse shows with her granddaughter Maggie.
She enjoyed watching Maggie’s mom, Erynn Doaner, ‘bloom’ and was thankful for the special relationship they shared that continued to grow over the years.
Shelly was deeply fond of a one-of-a-kind camp on Lake Dunmore where a close group of lifelong friends shared extraordinary memories filled with laughter, great food, cocktails, sunshine, and rain while raising and watching their children grow up together.
Her annual summer traditions were held as treasured memories: Each year, for ‘girls’ vacation,’ her sisters and daughter would travel somewhere new to explore. These wonderful times were filled with great food, laughter, and many fun stories to reminisce, and the annual ‘girl’s kayak adventure’ was exactly that. They always scoped out a new kayak spot on a lake or river, and it was filled with hilarity, some mishaps, and belly-rolling laughter.
Shelly was an inspiration to many. This past May, a Kentucky Derby-themed party brought many women in Shelly’s life together to celebrate her fortitude, hard-working ‘badass’ approach to life.
Over the years, many people often joked to and about Shelly that people were afraid of her. She was a force—a solid rock to so many throughout her lifetime. She was there when you needed her in the middle of the night, no questions asked.
This admiration also showed in a recent (very touching) parade organized by the Markowski family, featuring miles of heavy trucks and cars (even some antique ones) filled with co-workers, friends, and family, driving by Shelly’s house, beeping and tooting horns and showering her with love as she waved them on.
Throughout her fight against cancer, she was “deeply touched by her children.” She was truly thankful for how they “stepped up” and were there when, where, and whenever she needed them. She grew to admire them, not only as her children but as her friends and her anchors in life. She was so grateful for them and how they have grown into amazing people.
Shelly leaves behind her loving husband, Donny; son Perry Hooker; daughter Taress and her husband Cody Poquette; grandchildren Maggie Mae and Jameson Hooker, and McKenzie and Wade Poquette; Sister Tammy and Tim Baker; sister Wendy and Paul Santucci; nieces Rachel and Gabrielle Contois; nephews AJ and Jake Santucci; uncle Tony Caporale; aunt Judy Daigle; cousin Christie Caporale; brother-in-law Bob Roucolet, whom Shelly described as a being a rock throughout the last several years, and his wife Darlene; family friends John and Linda Crossman, and dear, lifelong best friends Tracy Bruce and Thomasina Magoon.
Family and friends are invited to a celebration of Shelly’s life on Saturday, August 6, 2022, from 11a.m – 2 p.m. at the Brandon American Legion Post 55. Donations in her memory may be made to the Rutland County Human Society.
