Astoria

Nov. 22, 1943 – July 29, 2014

John R. (Hoppy) Hopkins, 70, passed away Tuesday, July 29, 2014, at his home in Astoria. He was overlooking the Columbia River as the sun was rising; his wife Christine was by his side. His daughters and friends were able to spend time with him in the weeks and days prior to his death. In 2010, he received a bilateral lung transplant and had been in declining health for the past year.

John was born on November 22, 1943, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the only child of Chesley G. and Margaret (O’Shea) Hopkins. His family relocated to Horta, Faial Island, in the Azores Islands, when John was 2 years old, and then to Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, Canada, when he was 12. John grew up swimming, fishing and playing soccer with his cousins. The family moved to North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada when John was in his teens. There he graduated from St. Michaels High and attended Xavier Junior College.

Ever eager for adventure, John moved to New York City in 1962, where he worked in TV studio operations and as a cameraman for the New York Mets. He resided in New York until he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, in which he served from 1964-1968. He was stationed at Glasgow AFB in Mont., the Panama Canal Zone and McChord AFB in Tacoma, Wash.

John moved to Portland in 1968 and attended Portland State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in liberal arts. He worked as a milkman for Alpenrose Dairy and as a meter reader for Portland General Electric. After graduation, he worked in real estate development in the Portland area. From 1974 to 1978 he was active in civic committees for the city of Woodburn and served two years as a member of the Woodburn City Council.

In 1978, John was employed by Emanuel Hospital and was the first program director of LifeFlight, a critical care transport air ambulance. Under his guidance, the program grew to 700 flights per year. John briefly moved to San Francisco to be the program director of Calstar, a trauma air ambulance company.

John rejoined the Legacy family in 1985 as Executive Director of the occupational medicine clinics and in 1987 moved to Bend to work as Director of Regional Services of St. Charles Medical Center.

John returned to Portland and worked as Director of Outreach Services for Legacy Emanuel from 1995 to 2006. In that position, John visited rural hospitals and assisted them in establishing trauma services for their patients. He developed “One Call,” which allows rural hospitals swifter access to the specialty services of physicians at Legacy Emanuel. John served on the Oregon State Trauma Advisory Board as the administrative representative for both St. Charles Medical Center and Legacy Emanuel. He was honored with the Treasure of Emanuel award in 2005 for his dedication to community outreach and his tireless support of the Legacy Emanuel Trauma Center.

John and Christine were married in Portland in 1994 and moved to Astoria in 2003, where he immediately became an integral part of the community. In Astoria, John served on the Board of Directors of Liberty Restoration Inc. (The Liberty Theater) and the Columbia Memorial Hospital Foundation. He was passionate about music, jazz in particular, and promoted jazz locally.

John loved traveling and taking daily photos of the Columbia River to send to friends. He used the gift of 4 1/2 additional years of life to the fullest. He spent those years traveling with his wife, visiting family and friends and being grateful for each and every day.

John is survived by his beloved wife Christine Lolich; his daughters, Carolyn Hopkins of Portland and Megan Hopkins and her boyfriend Ed Graham of Butte, Mont.; brothers-in-law John Simich of Portland and Richard Lolich of Arlington, Va.; his dog, Raleigh; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of John’s Life will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, August 23, 2014, in the Atrium of Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, 501 N. Graham St., Portland, between the main hospital and the medical office building.

Memorial gifts may be made in John’s name to Emanuel Medical Center Foundation (for Family House, which houses families of burn and trauma patients), P.O. Box 4484, Portland, OR 97208, and Liberty Restoration Inc. (for John’s Jazz Series, including admission for children), 1203 Commercial St., Astoria, OR 97103. Please consider being an organ donor by registering in your state at donatelife.net.