John Owen Hogben

1925 - 1999  (74 years)

• Name	John Owen Hogben
  Born	3 Apr 1925	Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada
  Gender	Male
  FindAGrave	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/181093172
  Died	8 Oct 1999
  Buried	Williamsburg Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I490209	Generations
  Last Modified	3 Mar 2025

  
  

  Family	Ann Filips,   b. 1931, Kenora, Kenora District, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 4 Jan 2023, Freeport (Kitchener), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 92 years)
  Last Modified	4 Mar 2025
  Family ID	F300639	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Hogben-JohnHoppy-1926-1999-001-WaterlooRegionMuseum.JPG John "Hoppy" Hogben (1926-1999) was an on-air personality at the CKKW radio station. He hosted a country music show, a local talent show, and participated in numerous on location events. - Region of Waterloo Museums Online Collections Database (no date) Waterloo Region Museum - 2010.010.003.124 | Region of Waterloo Museums. Available at: https://waterloo.pastperfectonline.com/Photo/6CAFBB5A-531C-4DEE-A062-777189528730 (Accessed: 29 January 2025).

  
  

• Notes

  'Hoppy' Hogben was country music kingpin By Joel Rubinoff RECORD STAFF There was something about Hoppy. "When he walked into the room there was a light about him," says a Dianne Ditner, an old friend of John "Hoppy" Hogben, who died of a heart attack Friday at 73. "It kind of brightened the room up. He was a very 'up' person." A "character," friends and family called him. A man who loved to laugh, seldom had a down moment and was the life of every party. "He's just special, that's all," says his wife, Ann Hogben, who likened her late husband to the energizer bunny. "Nothing happened till Hoppy showed up on the scene. There was something about him that just got things going." The Winnipeg native, who moved to Kitchener by way of Kenora in the mid-'50s, was perhaps best known to K-W listeners as the longtime host of K-W Jamboree on radio station CKKW in the '60s and '70s. With his "hee haw" laugh, 10 gallon hat, stubby cigars and trademark quips like "Yooooooo betcha neighbour!" the country music kingpin was a familiar sight at K-W parades, concerts and country hotels. He also hosted talent search shows in the area and promoted local country concerts, including Hank Snow and Kitty Wells. "He was a really big star in his own right sort of an institution," says Dan Fisher, CKKW's former program manager and Hogben's former boss. "People loved him. He was very strongly associated with country music in this area. The silver suit he used to wear is in the (Canadian) Country Music Hall Of Fame out west." When not parading around as the flamboyant Hoppy, Hogben worked as a radio announcer under the name John Hodgins and sold radio ads for local stations CKKW and CKCR. He semi-retired in 1981 after suffering an aneurism, but bounced back before retiring officially in 1991. Two years ago, he resurrected his K-W Jamboree show on Waterloo community station CKWR. And until his death he performed as both emcee and singer in local seniors homes with his longtime backing band, Dianne and the Cavaliers. "Right to the end he lived life to the fullest," says that band's singer, Ditner, whom Hogben discovered at a talent search show in 1967. "He was always acting up, jumping around and carrying on onstage." 'Hoppy' enjoyed fishing, golf, bowling and volunteer work "I'll miss his laugh, his personable appeal and his human touch," says another friend, Fred Merritt. In his private life, Hogben found time to enjoy fishing, golfing, bowling and to do charity work driving seniors on errands for RAISE and driving cancer patients to London for treatments. "We had to share him with the public," says his wife, Ann. "But the time he had with us was quality time." Visitation for Hogben is today from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.at the Edward R. Good Funeral Home in Waterloo. Prayers will be offered at 8 p.m. His funeral service is in the chapel Wednesday at 2 p.m. Hogben is survived by his wife, two sons, a brother and sister, six nephews and one niece. The Record Kitchener, Ontario, Canada Tuesday, October 12, 1999

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 3 Apr 1925 - Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada Buried - - Williamsburg Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth