David Hooey was a popular classmate with a friendly, outgoing personality.  HIs family of four boys moved often, due to his father's profession as a doctor specializing in malaria.  One of David's brothers, Michael, was his twin, and the two boys entered DHS together in 1958.  Both left before the JC exams the following year.

This is a photo of the four Hooey brothers, taken in 2009.   From the left they are Christopher, Michael (Class of 1961), Anthony (Class of 1964), and David.

After school David trained as a bricklayer and then joined Roberts Construction, which became Murray and Roberts Construction.  He worked his way up in the firm, eventually becoming the contracts manager.

David met Denise Hawkins at ballroom dancing classes and they married in 1967.  They had two daughters, Lea-Anne (right) and Carolyn (left).

David's work on a variety of projects required him to be constantly on the move, and the family lived in at least fifteen different homes (and even hotels) over the years, in locations ranging from the Natal South Coast to Swaziland and Dubai.  They also enjoyed travelling around South Africa in a caravan, visiting game reserves and different regions of the country, and they were always up for an adventure!   David and Denise also made several overseas trips to America and Europe.   Here they are on one of their excursions:

David took early retirement at the age of 62 in 2005, and settled in Durban North.  Unfortunately Denise developed breast cancer, and passed away in 2009.   

In 2011 David married Joyce, who he had met on a cruising holiday.  The couple settled in Cape Town, but went on yearly cruising holidays to Europe and the Mediterranean.

David became ill early in 2021, with cardiac issues that were resolved after two heart operations.  But within a year he  was also diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a form of blood cancer.  The MDS required almost weekly blood transfusions.  David had just started a mild form of chemotherapy for the condition when he suddenly passed away on 3 August 2022.

David Hooey was survived by his daughters Lea-Anne and Carolyn; his son in law Chris; his wife Joyce and her family; and his three brothers Christopher, Michael, and Anthony,  and Anthony's wife Kitty.  Unfortunately Michael, David's twin brother, passed away not long afterward, on 6 November 2022.

[Special thanks to David's daughters Lea-Anne and Carolyn for their help with this In Memory notice.]