Thomas Hooker to be buried in Colma cemetery on November 22

We received word from Father Illo at Star of the Sea Church today that Thomas Myron Hooker, the resident homeless man who passed away on October 27, will receive a burial at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma on Tuesday, November 22 at 12noon. If you’d like to attend the burial, meet at the main office of the cemetery on that date and time.

Thomas, a 20+ year resident of the Richmond District, most recently lived at the corner of Funston and Clement. The announcement of his passing was met with sadness across the neighborhood, and on November 7, Star of Sea Church held a memorial for Thomas. The church also screened the documentary “Voices”, a film about mental illness, which featured Thomas.

At the memorial service, Star of the Sea received $4,500 in offerings which were put toward the cost of Thomas’ upcoming burial. Father Illo says the church still needs to raise $3,000 to cover the cost of the grave and headstone. If you wish to donate, checks should be made out to Star of Sea Church and mailed to 4420 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94118 (please note on your donation check that it is for burial costs for Thomas Hooker).

You can also donate online here (select General donation and in the adjoining field, enter “Thomas Hooker burial costs”).

Originally, because Thomas had no known next of kin and little was known of his background, the plan was to cremate his remains and spread his ashes at sea, which is a service the city offers at no charge. We asked Father Illo why this plan had changed, and this was his response:

The reason we are doing full-body burial is because Thomas was Catholic, as far as we know (he used to come to Star every day for a while, and then only on Sundays), and the Catholic tradition is interment, following the ancient Christian custom. It’s actually costing a lot more than spreading the ashes at sea, and might seem less evocative, but the advantage is that he will now have permanent memorial where people can come and remember him, and pray for his soul. That’s our custom.

Soon after Thomas’ passing, a spontaneous memorial also appeared at the northwest corner of Funston and Clement that included flowers, candles, and photos of Thomas. His passing was also the subject of a recent piece by SF Chronicle columnist, C.W. Nevius.

Sarah B.