OTIS — Connie Lynne (Hoch) Hoopingarner, 72, passed away on June 22, 2015, at Locust Grove Village in La Crosse. Born on Aug. 24, 1942, she was the daughter of O.C. (‘Poss’) and Esther (Keenan) Hoch. In 1960, she graduated from Hoisington High School and went on to earn her Dental Hygiene Degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City. She worked as a Dental Hygienist until her retirement in 2002. On Feb. 29, 1964, she married Larry Dwight Hoopingarner in Las Vegas, Nev. They made their home in Manter.
Connie became an EMT and was active in St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church, including being a member of the Altar Society. She was an avid gardener and always had a large garden and was a known animal lover. It wasn’t unusual for ‘stray’ animals to show up on the family doorstep, as everyone knew Connie would take them in. In 1993, Larry and Connie moved to Lake Ozark, Mo. Upon Larry’s death in 2010 she moved to Otis.
Mrs. Hoopingarner was a member of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Olmitz.
Larry and Connie raised six children, Larry A. Hoopingarner of Kansas City, Lori Rahjes (husband, Ken) of Elwood, Neb., Lindsay Hoopingarner (wife, Traci) of Linwood, Lance Hoopingarner (wife, Brenda) of Otis, Lyle Hoopingarner of San Francisco, Calif., and Lisa Compton of Macks Creek, Mo.
In addition to her children, Connie is survived by brothers, Don (Dick) Hoch and wife Sharon, of Pomona, Bob Hoch and wife Crystal, of Hoisington, and Pat Hoch of Hoisington. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Eric Hoopingarner and Gayle Atkins, Will, Grant, Sarah and Matthew Rahjes, Ashlyn Knaus, Victoria Hoopingarner, Paige Addison, Jacob Lett and Matthew Lett, Landon, Seth and Jake Hoopingarner, Haley Hoopingarner and Alyssa Jones. As well she is survived by five great-grandchildren, Xivianne Matos, Yaimary Matos, Yuniel and Dahvin Hoopingarner and Dahlia Knaus. She was preceded in death by her husband, Larry Dwight Hoopingarner; parents, O.C. and Esther Hoch; and brother, Jon Hoch.  
Vigil with Rosary will be held at 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 28, at St. Ann’s Catholic Church. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. on Monday at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, celebrated by Fathers Anselm Eke and Ultan Murphy. Burial will be at 1 p.m. on Tuesday at Stanton County Cemetery in Johnson. Friends may call 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, at Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to St. Ann’s Catholic Church or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in care of the funeral home. Condolences may be sent and notice viewed at www.nicholsonrickefh.net.

Funeral arrangements provided by
Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home
P.O.Box 146; 415 N. Main
Hoisington, KS 67544
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, June 24, 2015