Stephen Tobin Hopkins

1939 - 2015

(News article) Stephen Tobin Hopkins, a retired airline pilot who was active in the Perrysburg community for more than 20 years, died Sunday in Broward Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 75.

Mr. Hopkins, his wife, Jane, and his younger son, Mark, had just spent the holiday vacationing in Colombia when he suffered a mild stroke on the airplane ride home. He was immediately admitted to the hospital when the plane landed in Fort Lauderdale, Mark Hopkins said. He later suffered a massive stroke and never recovered, his son said.

"We had a blast. It was absolutely fantastic. We were in a town called Santa Marta and then we went to Cartagena. We were there for eight days and did some hiking and sightseeing. It's more than a shock because his health was so good," his son said.

Mr. Hopkins was a commercial pilot for many years for Northwest airlines. After his two sons went away to college, he and his wife decided to move closer to Detroit Metropolitan Airport where he was piloting international flights. The couple looked at several communities in Michigan and Ohio before deciding to relocate from Memphis to Perrysburg in 1995.

"They liked the small-town, quaint feel and he liked to sail, so the proximity to the water was an attraction," said his older son Tobin, who added that Mr. Hopkins had a passion for sailing but no time to pursue it when working.

"He absolutely loved living in Perrysburg. They built such a good group of friends here and they love this area. In his core was a desire to give back to the community," his son said.

Mr. Hopkins was president of the Perrysburg Rotary Club in 2013 and also a member of the Knights of Columbus. He spent much time volunteering for organizations such as Toledo's Read for Literacy program and at St. Rose Church in Perrysburg.

"He was extremely friendly and outgoing. When we would go to church, he would be the guy standing there 30 minutes afterwards talking to everybody. He was a people person," his son Tobin said.

Mr. Hopkins coached youth sports in Perrysburg. He had been captain of the soccer team at the University of Hartford, in Connecticut.

Born in South Windsor, Conn., to Alfred and Eleanor Hopkins, he followed his father's career path and joined the U.S. Air Force.

Mr. Hopkins flew B-52s during the Vietnam War and completed more than 150 missions over Southeast Asia. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and numerous other medals for his military service, his son said.

He met his future wife while on a three-month leave from the Air Force. She was a flight attendant on the plane. "They struck up a conversation. He got her address and started writing her letters, and the relationship blossomed," son Tobin said. They married in 1967 before Mr. Hopkins returned to his base.

The family moved to Atlanta, where he was employed briefly by the U.S Federal Reserve Bank after receiving a master of business administration degree from Georgia State University. He missed flying, though, and returned to the air as a commercial pilot for Southern Airways, which through mergers became part of Delta Airlines.

Surviving are his wife, Jane; sons, Tobin and Mark, and two grandsons.

A memorial seervice is set for 11 a.m. Jan. 17 at St. Rose Church. The family suggests tributes to the Perrysburg Rotary Service Foundation or the Country Garden Club of Perrysburg's, Endowment/?Community Project Fund.

Contact Blade staff writer Marlene Harris-Taylor at mtaylor@theblade.com or 419-724-6091.