John Lee Hopkins

John Lee Hopkins, 89. of Rocky Mount, Virginia, died on February, 23, 2013.
Born on January 14, 1924, in Richmond, Virginia, John Lee Hopkins was the son of the Honorable Abram Hancock Hopkins and Catherine Dabney Walker Lee Hopkins. After attending public schools in Franklin County, he attended Virginia Tech and Roanoke College before voluntarily enlisting in the United States Navy in 1943. In World War II, Hopkins was stationed first in Jacksonville, Florida, for training and then at Alameda air station in California, before being transferred overseas to the Pacific theater. He served as an Aviation Radio and Radar Operator on a PBM Mariner sea plane in the Caroline Islands of the South Pacific.
Following World War II, John attended law school at William and Mary for one year before transferring to Washington and Lee University where he graduated with a J.D. in 1950. Upon graduation, he worked as an Assistant Claims Attorney for Nationwide Insurance Company for five years. While working for Nationwide in Raleigh, North Carolina, he met Lillian Daniel Dewar. The two were married on July 9, 1955. They moved to Rocky Mount in 1956, where he practiced law for 32 years until his retirement in 1988.
Throughout his years in Rocky Mount, Hopkins was active in the Rotary Club of Franklin County, and he served as its president for one year. He was also an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Rocky Mount, serving on the Vestry and as the church's Treasurer for many years. In recent years, he took great pleasure in hosting the Church's annual Easter Egg Hunt.
While serving in the Navy, Hopkins became very interested in the seashells he encountered along the Pacific beaches he patrolled. One day on patrol, his crew landed on the atoll of Ngatik. While there, Hopkins traded the shirt off of his back, as well as his baseball cap and an assortment of canned goods, for a beautiful seashell, which he later learned was a rare Golden Cowry. Throughout his life, he loved to tell the story of how he came into possession of the shell, and in recent years he proudly displayed the shell on the fireplace mantle in his living room.
John was preceded in death by Lillian Dewar Hopkins, his beloved wife of 48 years. He is survived by his son, John Lee Hopkins, Jr., and Teri Mack Hopkins of Atlanta, Georgia, and their children, John Lee Hopkins III and Anna Catherine Hopkins. He is also survived by his son William Dewar Hopkins and his partner The Honorable Joseph H. Gale, of Flint Hill, Virginia. John was preceded in death by his older sister, Nancy Hopkins Rylatt of Redbourn, England, and his older brother, William Benjamin Hopkins, of Roanoke. He is survived by his younger brother, Henry Lee Hopkins, of Rocky Mount.
Hopkins was a loving and devoted husband, caring for his wife, Lillian, through recurrent bouts of depression without complaint. He was also a loving and devoted father and grandfather. Throughout his life, he was concerned about the less fortunate in society and he worked tirelessly to help those in need and to fight for social justice. He will be deeply missed by his family and all those who knew his kind and generous spirit. The family will receive friends from 5-7p.m. on Friday, March 1, at the family home. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 2, at 11:00 a.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church in Rocky Mount, followed by a reception in the Church Parrish Hall. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Helping Hands of Franklin County, P.O. Box 429, Rocky Mount, VA, or to Trinity Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 527, Rocky Mount, VA 24151. Arrangements by Flora Funeral Service of Rocky Mount.