John David Hopper

John David Hopper went peacefully to his heavenly rest on Saturday, January 10, 2015 in Houston, Texas. He was born on November 30, 1934 in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Rev. John Ora Hopper and Murrell Richardson Hopper. John David grew up in Baton Rouge, where his father was pastor of Zoar Baptist Church. He attended Central Schools and graduated with a degree in Music Education from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, La. He is preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Ruth Hopper Sylvest, and his brother, Thomas E. Hopper. He spent a year after college as a missionary in Cuba, where he learned fluent Spanish and discovered his lifelong interest in working with people from different cultures. He went to Golden Gate Baptist Seminary in California where he continued his work with Spanish-speaking peoples. There he also met and married his wife, JoAnn Wells Hopper. He continued his education at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he obtained the Master of Theology and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Church History. John David and JoAnn went to Europe in 1965 as missionaries. He taught at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Ruschlikon, Switzerland until 1970 when the couple began their work among the Baptist churches of Eastern Europe. He was known for his compassion and love for the people of those lands and for his efforts to further their ability to worship as God led them. He enabled partnership between American churches and the churches of the lands under Communist rule. In 1988 he was called back to the International Seminary in Switzerland as president. He led the move of the school to Prague in 1995. John David maintained his lifelong love of music and language learning until the end of his life. He spoke Spanish, German, French, Italian, Esperanto, Russian, Romanian, Serbo-Croatian and Czech. He read Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Because of his long partnership with Trinity Baptist Church, San Antonio, the couple moved to San Antonio after retirement. He is survived by his wife of 56 years; three sons and their spouses John David, Jr.(Barbara) of San Jose, Cal., Joel Andrew (Tracey) of Dallas, Tex., and Timothy Keith (Kristin) of Houston, Tex. His loves were his seven grandchildren: Chris, Becca, Brennan, Jonathan, Matthew, Katie and Jack. Also surviving are three brothers and numerous nieces and nephews. He will be remembered by all who knew him as a merciful, kind and loving person who gave his life in service to others. A Memorial Service will be held at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas at 11:00 AM on February 3, 2015. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions, 160 Clarement Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030.