When football scholarship offers came from Vanderbilt, the University of Tennessee, and Middle Tennessee State, Ed Hooper turned them all down to enter the mortuary business. He completed his postgraduate course in Mortuary Science in 1935 and began practice. During the Putty Overall era, he began serving as an active fundraiser for Tech athletics, a practice that continued throughout his career. He was commissioned a Colonel by governors of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. He was an active member of the Tech Athletic Foundation.