(Wahpeton)– The announcement of Bob Hope’s death is especially touching to one lakes area couple.
Nancy and Elliott Wooldridge have a place on the west side of West Lake Okoboji and are also residents of Sioux City.
Nancy tells KUOO news like everyone else, they were shocked and saddened to learn of Bob Hope’s death after a battle with pneumonia. She describes Hope as a fantastic human being and a joy to be around.
Nancy says her husband Elliott first met Hope at a fundraising event for Polio in Sioux City in 1952. She says Elliott drove Hope to the various hospitals in Sioux City, and attended a show Hope put on while he was there. Nancy says Elliott introduced her to Bob Hope and his wife Delores a few years later, and they became close friends. Nancy says she and Elliott have dined at the Hope’s home in Palm Desert, California and attended awards ceremonies for Delores.
Nancy said they hadn’t spoken with the Hope family yet as of Monday morning, but she says they plan to do so in the next day or so.
Nancy and Elliott aren’t sure yet if they’ll travel to California for Hope’s funeral. Nancy says there’s a possibility it could be by invitation only.
