Founded by parents Mr. and Mrs. U. Mehrl Hooper for programs serving families with children coping with catastrophic illness.

Sharon I. Hooper graduated from Frederick High School in 1954. She continued her education at Hood College where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in music and completed her doctorate in education at the University of Maryland. She began her teaching career at North Frederick Elementary School and then became a music teacher at Catoctin High School. Ms. Hooper’s teaching career combined her two greatest loves: children and music. When she died of cancer in 1983, The Sharon I. Hooper Fund for Children was established by her parents U. Mehrl and Margaret T. Hooper. The fund serves families with children who are coping with catastrophic illness, a fitting way to remember a woman who loved children and worked with them all her life.