Deborah Hoeper

Deborah Harker Hoeper passed away on Thursday, May 7, 2026 from effects of a stroke.

She was an enthusiastic artist, working in oils, watercolor, and acrylic media. She painted in a studio in Riverdale, and exhibited her work at the Artists Gallery in old town Ellicott City, Maryland.

Born in Elkins, WV on June 6, 1945 to the late Elizabeth Maiden, Debbie graduated in 1963 from Green Bank High School. She graduated from Davis & Elkins college in 1967, where she was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority, and attended graduate courses in Dayton, OH.

She taught school in Dayton before coming to Maryland in 1970. She was a teacher in the Prince George’s County public schools, teaching English and social studies in middle school for 26 years. In 1979, she married Phil Hoeper, a software engineer.

Debbie was very interested in travel. When both she and Phil retired, they traveled extensively over a large part of the world, even going to Australia, New Zealand, Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Iceland, and Beijing.

Debbie will be buried in Arbovale Cemetery, Arbovale, WV at 2:00 on Sunday May 17. A brief service will be held at the graveside. The burial is by Wallace and Wallace.

If you would like to contribute to charity in Debbie’s memory, consider your local animal shelter; Debbie loved cats.

To get the latest information on memorial gatherings for Debbie, go to www.hoeperart.com