Bernadette M. "Berni" Hoppe

Bernadette M. "Berni" Hoppe
September 25, 1964 - March 1, 2019
Formerly of Pine Bush, NY
Ms. Bernadette "Berni" Hoppe of Buffalo, an attorney, college professor, and passionate activist for people's rights died from cancer in the Hospice Inpatient Unit in Cheektowaga, New York, on March 1, 2019. She was 54.
Ms. Hoppe was born in Poughkeepsie, NY. After graduating from Pine Bush High School, NY, in 1982, she entered the Army Reserve. She moved to Buffalo in 1983 and earned all her college degrees from the University at Buffalo (UB): she completed a Bachelor's in Psychology and Women's Studies in 1987, a Masters in American/Women's Studies in 1990, a Juris Doctor in 2003, and a Master's in Public Health in 2006.
Ms. Hoppe started work as an adjunct instructor at the UB in 1987. She also taught at SUNY Brockport and Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. In 2006, she began teaching at the UB law school.
Starting in 1988, Ms. Hoppe commenced her legacy in Buffalo. She was the host and producer of the 100-episode public access television show "Focus on Women." Early in her career, she was also a counselor at Haven House, then at Erie County Medical Center. She was marketing manager and managed care administrator for the Geneva B. Scruggs Community Health Center, then became coordinator for Community Action for Prenatal Care. Ms. Hoppe said she preferred to work with "poor and underserved individuals and communities, particularly women with substance use disorders and pregnancies." Her work in the field of HIV/AIDS was focused on women.
In 2004, she founded the law practice of Hoppe & Associates Inc., which specialized in family law, especially for same-sex couples. She retired in 2018 to focus on her health.
As a co-founder of the Pro-Choice Network of Western New York, Ms. Hoppe won many awards for her legal work and community involvement. In 1995, Ms. Hoppe received a Women Helping Women award from the Buffalo chapter of the National Organization for Women. She was named "Divorce Attorney of the Year" by the Volunteer Lawyers Project in 2013, and in 2014 was named both the Assigned Counsel Program's "Family Court Attorney of the Year" and the Women Lawyers Association's "Woman Lawyer of the Year."
Since Bernadette was a lifelong activist, it was no surprise that four years after she was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer, she traveled to Albany to testify before the State Assembly Health Committee in support of the Medical Aid in Dying Act. In her testimony on April 23, 2018, Ms. Hoppe told the committee how much she had to live for. Then she said, "Please give me, and those of us with terminal diagnoses, the ability to have hard, emotional conversations with our doctors, our families, our friends, and let us be the ones to make very private, personal and difficult decisions about when and how we die." A month later, the committee narrowly passed the act, but it was not brought before the Assembly. New versions of the bill were introduced in both houses earlier this year.
In 2012, Bernadette met her wife-to-be, Mary Van Volkenburg, on a beach at Windmill Point, Ontario, Canada. They married on May 12, 2014. Mary said "Berni was kind, considerate, accepting, tolerant, very generous, smart, clever, and creative — I could use a thousand words to describe Berni but it wouldn't be enough. And she was the most loving wife anybody could ever ask for."
In her biographical statement, Bernadette wrote, "Mary is the best partner that anyone could possibly ask for on the horrifying roller coaster of cancer. I'm going out of this world with a great wardrobe and supported by an amazing group of friends and family." Bernadette sewed most of her own clothing, was a jewelry maker and lifelong vegetarian cook.
Besides her wife, Ms. Hoppe is survived by three siblings and their families: her youngest brother Timothy and his wife, Anita, their daughters Ellie, and Taylor and her husband Craig Beaubien of Bloomingburg, NY; her oldest brother Michael and his wife, Karen, his daughter Kristen and son Mikey of Bloomingburg, NY; and her older sister, Annie and her husband, Germar Bernhard of Alpine, CA.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on March 23 at Evergreen Commons, 67 Prospect Avenue, Buffalo, NY.
The family requests memorial contributions be made to: The Hospice Foundation of WNY, 225 Como Park Blvd., Cheektowaga, NY 14227 or The Erie County Bar Foundation, 438 Main St., Sixth Floor, Buffalo, NY 14202 in thanks for their generous support.