Cecil Leroy “Hoppy” Hopkins passed away peacefully at his home in Buckeye, AZ, attended by his wife Anna May Hopkins and his son Patrick Hopkins, at the age of 87 on Friday, November 6th, 2009.
Cecil was born May 23, 1922 in Central City, Nebraska to Frank and Susan Hopkins, the youngest of 13 children. The family moved to Colorado in a covered wagon, then back to Nebraska and again to Colorado in 1929. The family settled in Rocky Ford, Colorado. Cecil began working on his father’s cattle ranch in the late 1930s and was drafted into the US Army Air Corps shortly after his 20th birthday in 1942. He was a Tail Gunner on a B-17, flying bombing runs from London, England to Germany from 1943 to 1944, completing 35 missions including 3 missions on D-Day. Cecil received many commendations for his service, including a Silver Star.
When WWII ended in August of 1945, he returned to Colorado and returned the life he had loved of being a cowboy. In January 1951 he was recalled to service in the US Air Force after the Korean War began. He continued his service in the Air Force and retired from the Service in 1968 during the Vietnam War. He then worked for Lockheed Aircraft, Luke Air Force Base, and O’Malley’s Lumber Company in Buckeye, AZ before finally retiring in 1977.
Cecil was very proud of his military service and was an avid outdoorsman and hunter. He enjoyed his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and was quick to pull out his wallet and show pictures to anyone. Until his recent illness, he enjoyed meeting his grandchildren and great-grandchildren for weekly breakfasts at JB’s and meeting his cronies at the Sheep Camp for coffee.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Anna May, daughters Susan (Jake) Jacobson of Owatonna, Minnesota and Charlene (Jay) Powers-Broadbent of Goodyear, AZ, sons Richard Hopkins and Patrick Hopkins of Buckeye, AZ, granddaughters Kathleen Reilly of Denver, CO, Lisa (Brian) Powers-Vayda of Buckeye, AZ, Stacy Powers of Goodyear, AZ, Selena (Julian) Covarrubio of Buckeye, AZ and CJ Broadbent of Goodyear, AZ, and several great grandchildren.
Services will be held on Wednesday, November 11th at 1:00 pm at the Buckeye Funeral Home, 104 E Baseline Rd. Interment will be in the Louis B. Hazelton Memorial Park in Buckeye, AZ.
