Monday morning former West Orange-Stark Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Dan Ray Hooks was laid to rest. The funeral services were held inside the G&G Event Center at WOSHS and burial was at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Orange. Reverend Damon Bickham officiated.
A lot of coaches from the area and the past were there to pay their respects. That included pallbearers Randy Crouch, Thomas Brooks, Russell Bottley, Spanky Broussard, Eddie Dyer, Randy Ragsdale and Terry King. Coach Cornel Thompson, who was one of the speakers, said, “If you look at the group of coaches right there, I believe we could take them up to Dallas and win a few more games with the Cowboys.”
Hooks’ granddaughter Steeley Franklin was the first to speak and did a fantastic job talking about her Paw-paw.
Longtime WOS Assistant Coach Mark Foreman spoke about being hired by Hooks and how he picked him up everyday for work in the early years of his career because his family only had one vehicle. Hooks, always armed with a one-liner, once told Foreman, “I’ve carried you longer than your mother.” Hooks was famous for firing his coaches Friday night and rehiring them on Saturday. There has been an ongoing joke of who got fired the most. Foreman said, “He fired me 38 times but I know he loved me.”
Toby Foreman, who played and worked for Hooks, said Coach was there the day he was born. Hooks was also in attendance when Foreman got his first head coaching job at Beaumont Central in 2013. “He’s always been there for me. And he taught me, “Coach’em hard. Love them harder.” Foreman then tested his pipes when he sang a verse to a song he said Hooks sang all the time in the field house. It was a verse from Danny’s Song that ends with “Everything’s gonna be alright.”
Thompson said Hooks was always quick witted and loved to work the referees during the game. He was known for trying to get as far out on the field as he could to prove his point. But there was one time, Thompson said, the referee won the argument telling Hooks, “Coach if you’re going to be this far on the field you better have on a helmet and shoulder pads.”
Songs featured in the service included, “How Great Thou Art” and “Amazing Grace” from Alan Jackson and George Jones singing, “Why Me Lord” and “He stopped Loving Her Today.”
Daughter Shae Hooks, told KOGT after the service, “The family wants to thank the community for their support and love they’ve shown to our family. We are in awe of all the stories and how much he meant to so many. We are very grateful.”
-Gary Stelly, KOGT-
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