HAMPTON — Mark A. Loopley, 61, of Hampton, died Monday, Sept. 29, 2014, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

He was born Oct. 3, 1952, in Springfield, Mass., a son of Frank W. Loopley of Hampton and the late Jennie A. (Amelisko) Loopley.

Mark graduated from high school in western Massachusetts and attended Husson College in Bangor, Maine. He was employed as an maintenance engineer for NextEra Energy Resources at Seabrook Station with 28 years of service, retiring last June.

He served on the Hampton Planning Board and Conservation Commission and made his home there since 1978. His hobbies included playing golf and fishing.

In addition to his father, he is survived by his wife, Donna R. (Butterfield) Loopley; his son, Tyler Loopley of Hampton; his stepson, Leslie Traeger of Nashua; three sisters, Lori Forcier of Kissimmee, Fla., Christine Russell of Hampton, and Sherry Loopley of Connecticut; several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins; and devoted pets, Justice, Bella, Duffy and Whiskers.

SERVICES: Visiting hours will be from 5 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 2, at the Remick & Gendron Funeral Home-Crematory, 811 Lafayette Road, Hampton. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited.

Hampton mourns death of Mark Loopley

By Kyle Stucker

The Hampton Union, September 30, 1014

HAMPTON — Planning Board members and town officials could always count on a little humor from Mark Loopley to help them through their four-hour meetings and lengthy discussions.

Loopley was known for his subtle jabs and dry wit, and locals say the absence of this humor and kind-natured spirit has made the last couple of days immensely challenging since they learned of Loopley’s passing at the age of 61 on Monday.

While Planning Board Clerk Fran McMahon said it’s been a "difficult time for everybody," thinking of the way the "very thoughtful" man and "good guy" approached his work and those around him sparked bittersweet smiles and laughs from McMahon.

"Sometimes you just had to understand the context of when he’s poking somebody or he’s firing a jab at you or sticking you in the ribs," said McMahon with a laugh. "When you get close to 11 at night (during a meeting), you need a little change of pace."

The news hit board Vice Chairman Brendan McNamara particularly hard, as the two formed a close bond over the past three years while McNamara carpooled with Loopley in Loopley’s prized BMW to various meetings and events.

Their drive to Town Hall usually only took about "two minutes," but McNamara said he learned a great deal during their rides and that the rides are memories that "most definitely" mean a lot to him.

"It’s kind of hard to talk about," said McNamara, who often paused or choked up while talking about Loopley on Tuesday. "The two of us always rode together."

Loopley was found unresponsive at his home on the morning of Sept. 6, according to his son Tyler. Tyler said his father went to bed the night of Sept. 5 "perfectly healthy" and that the illness was a shock to his family.

"This really just came out of the blue," said Tyler.

After being transported to a local hospital, Loopley, who slipped into a coma on Sept. 7, was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital. He passed away at Mass General early Monday morning, according to Tyler.

"I’m going to miss him," said Tyler.

A Massachusetts native and son of a Hampton man, Loopley made his home in Hampton in 1978. Loopley spent years on the town’s Planning Board and Conservation Commission, and the maintenance engineer retired in June after spending 28 years working at Seabrook Station nuclear power plant.

That last part — the recent retirement — is what McNamara said makes Loopley’s death so difficult to understand and process, along with the fact that Loopley also recently got married. McNamara said Loopley and his wife, Donna, had made a number of plans to travel and enjoy their retirements, and he said both were "real happy" with where their lives were headed.

"People have plans and get ready to start doing them, then all of a sudden life comes along and it kicks you in the butt," said McNamara. "There’s people like Mark who are happy and healthy and next thing you know, bam — he gets sick… That’s the part that’s hard to deal with."

Fellow board members and town employees described Loopley as a "watchdog," "hard-worker," "well-considered" person, and someone who could "move on" to the next topic or issue before him without any "emotional hangover" or personal grudge no matter how heated the debate.

Laurie Olivier, the town’s planning coordinator, said Tuesday it was "too upsetting" to discuss Loopley’s death and that it was difficult to "wrap" her "head around" what happened.

"The entire Planning Board has heavy hearts right now, and Mark Loopley’s absence will be felt and missed not only at our meetings, but in our friendships as well," she said.

Visiting hours will be held for Loopley from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Remick and Gendron Funeral Home at 811 Lafayette Road.