Harry Hopkins

Family-Placed Obituary


HOPKINS, Harry Vandyke 77, of Scottsdale, Arizona passed away peacefully at home on February 6, 2007 after a lengthy illness. He was born in Dallas, TX on December 26, 1929 to Bess Bryant and Harry Hopkins, who preceded him in death. They resided briefly in Long Beach, CA before his family settled in Cincinnati, OH. He graduated from Colerain High School in 1947 & worked 3 summers in the U.S. Forest Service during his early college years. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1951, then went to work for Proctor & Gamble Co. where he "sold a lot of soap!" Harry married Alice Gift (his former wife) in June, 1953 and moved to Nebraska as a Regional Manager for the company. They moved back to Dayton, OH in 1955 where he worked in the insurance industry for many years while earning his Master's and PhD degrees, and he founded General Pension Planning Corporation in 1968. They had 3 children who survive him, Sandra (Dale) Martin of FL, H.V. Hopkins IV (Krista), and Jennifer (Jack) Romick of OH. He was an Enrolled Actuary, an Enrolled Agent, a Certified Public Accountant, and served as President and Treasurer of the Dayton Chapter of Chartered Life Underwriters. He was proud of his years of service in the U.S. Army Reserves, retiring in 1968 with the rank of Major. He is also survived by his wife, Maureen, whom he married in 1977, and her children Cheri Franklin and Rick Hoppe (Robyn Cultice) of OH, both of whom he loved as his own. He was proud of his 9 grandchildren, Alison & Alexandra Martin, VJ, Connor, and Darin Hopkins, Jasmine and Josie Romick, and Robb and Heather Franklin. He is also survived by his sister, Anne McQuade, niece Lori Grant, great-niece Shannon, and great-nephew Alexander of CO; niece Teri Ulmer of FL; and many cousins. From Maureen's family he enjoyed his friendship with sister-in-law JoAnne of FL and brothers-in-law George of FL, Theodore of OH, and Robert of CA. He continued his life's journey into retirement in 1998 where he began writing horse & dog programs & then taking his results to the tracks to make sure they followed his probabilities, ever the Actuary! He enjoyed his role as a "Tennessee Squire" (the only requirement was to drink Jack Daniel's whiskey), playing tennis in the Pro-Am tennis tournaments on Labor Day weekends, family picnics, and the New Years celebrations at Miami Valley Golf Club in Dayton for many years. He was thrilled when he got his first library card at the age of 70, thought playing tennis in the Arizona sun was great, and enjoyed volunteering during tax season with AARP's tax aide program. If you wish to honor his life then encourage and support education at all levels, work hard, but take a vacation every 3 months, read lots of good books, play tennis, have a family gathering as often as possible, plan well for retirement! "Harry, Van, Dad, HV, Chief, Vanly, and Grandpa" has "shuffled off this mortal coil" and is at peace. A private family memorial celebration of his life will be held at a later date. Arrangements by Messinger Indian School Mortuary.