Free Inquiry noted the death of Walter Hoops in its Summer 1999 issue:
The death of freethought icon Walter Hoops truly marks the end of an era. Born in Hanover, Germany, Hoops belonged to the German freidenker (freethinker) movement before its suppression by the Nazis. (He loved to tell stories of youthful back-alley confrontations between the freethinkers and brownshirts.) In 1932, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he found work as an export manager and began six decades of service to the rationalist, freethought, and humanist movements. He served as editor, then as contributing editor of The American Rationalist magazine, running its bookselling program from his St. Louis basement until just a few years ago. In 1968, he published Our Rationalist Heritage, an anthology of rationalism, freethought, and humanism. In 1981, he became assistant leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis. Always, Hoops remained an indefatigable presence at meetings of the Rationalist Society of St. Louis, the Center for Inquiry/Midwest, and Free Inquiry seminars in the region. He freely offered his personal recollections of freethought history in prewar Germany and in the American heartland. In 1991, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at FI’s national conference in Kansas City. Walter died at ninety-seven. At his request, there was no memorial service. His remains were donated for medical research.
CFI SUMMIT
OCTOBER 24-27 2013
TACOMA, WASHINGTON
Joint Conference of the Council for Secular Humanism, Center for Inquiry, and Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
The transnational secular humanist magazine
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