Berks Barrister Winter 2018 - 43

In Memoriam
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Gene M. Venzke

Gene M. Venzke, 72, passed away on November 22, 2017. Mr. Venzke graduated
from Central Catholic High School in 1963 and Villanova University in 1967.
Following college, he attended and graduated from the Duquesne University
School of Law. Gene was a U.S. Army veteran having served in Vietnam. He
began to practice law in 1973 with the Mogel Speidel firm, left the firm in 1985
to practice on his own and then returned to Mogel Speidel, retiring from the
firm in 2009. He was a member of St. Catharine of Siena R.C.C. and the Exeter
Lions. Gene enjoyed running and biking in his younger days, but golf was his
favorite pastime. He also was an avid follower of Villanova basketball, much to
the chagrin of his longtime coworker who bleeds Syracuse Orange. Throughout
his life, Gene had a strange association with the number "27". The exit number
off the Expressway to get to college, his first dorm room number and even his
age at the time of his passing all were but a few examples of the numerals "2"
and "7" in his life. He is survived by his wife, Betty, his two sons, Michael and Ben,
and his granddaughter, Natasha.

Darlington Hoopes, Jr.
Darlington Hoopes, Jr., 90, passed away on December 27, 2017. Mr. Hoopes
graduated from George School in Newtown, PA in 1945, Albright College
in 1950 and Dickinson School of Law in 1953. Darl served in the U.S. Army
during World War II. After leaving the U.S. Army, he began his law career of 53
years. As a member of the American Civil Liberties Union, he attended many
civil rights marches in Washington, D.C. and other places, including attending
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" march in 1963. He provided pro bono
representation to the oppressed people in Mississippi in 1962 on behalf of the
American Bar Association. Darl was active in the Berks County and U.S. Socialist
Parties in the 1940s and '50s and ran for District Attorney for the Socialist Party
in 1955. In the late 1950s, he registered as a Democrat and was very active in
that party for the remainder of his life, being a Pennsylvania Democratic State
Committee member for over 40 years and receiving a lifetime Achievement
Award from the Berks County Democratic Party. He was also very proud of
his induction into the PA Voter Hall of Fame for having voted in more than 50
consecutive general elections. Darl volunteered for numerous organizations
and served on the boards of the Berks County Mental Health Association,
Economic Opportunity Council, Reading-Berks Human Relations Council, the
United Way, and Berks Chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism and
he served as treasurer of the Board of the Berks County Community Action
Program. He also helped establish Pill Addicts Anonymous and Threshold,
Inc. and served as president and provided pro bono legal services for both of
these organizations. Darl was also a longtime member of the American Bar
Association and the Berks County Bar Association, serving as chair of its Civil
Liberties Committee. He is survived by his wife, Frances, his four daughters,
Rebecca, Ruth, Ellen and Melissa, his son, Darlington, and seven grandchildren.
Winter 2018 | 43
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Berks Barrister Winter 2018

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