Nancy Florence Hopkins

Nancy Florence Hopkins
1941 - 2021
~
Nancy Florence Hopkins passed away peacefully at home on June 21st with her beloved husband of 61 years, Darryl, and daughter, Karen Hopkins Kahn, by her side. She is also survived by one brother, Donald Florence of Arlington, Texas; multiple nieces and nephews in Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington; Godchildren, Sasha and Spencer Rossan of Genoa, Nevada; and three indoor kitties: Punkin, Minky Lu and Dolly.
Nancy was born on July 4, 1941 - a true firecracker right from the start! She graduated with the Class of 1959 from Grand Prairie High School in Grand Prairie, Texas. Although she was awarded a full music scholarship to Tarleton State University, she opted instead to attend the University of Texas at Arlington. She went on to work for the Army Corps of Engineers in Fort Worth, Texas and Sacramento, California. After moving to the Bay Area, she took a job at NASA until she and Darryl adopted Karen, whereupon she became a devoted and engaged full-time Mother. She was an active Sunday School teacher, Girl Scout leader and piano teacher.
Upon returning to the workforce, Nancy worked for the Mt. Pleasant Elementary School District (MPESD) as the School Secretary at Valle Vista Elementary, retiring from the MPESD as the Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent and Board of Trustees. Never one to sit still and with a never-ending passion towards education and children, she served on the Board of Trustees through multiple administrations.
Nancy and Darryl were avid travelers. Throughout their years together, some of their adventures took them to Barbados, Israel, Puerto Rico, the Panama Canal, Western Europe and Scandinavia, Mexico, Canada, Alaska and Hawaii. Photos have been observed with Nancy parasailing in Puerto Vallarta, birds on her head in Spain and Darryl with an ape on his shoulder at Gibraltar. She was also a dedicated baseball fan, holding season tickets to the Oakland A's for many years, later supporting the LA Dodgers.
Nancy's philanthropy was able to be coupled with the true passion of her life: music. Aside from serving as church pianist at both Alum Rock Baptist Church and East Valley Church, she taught piano to 100's of students – often at no cost to the family. For 64 years, she faithfully taught, spreading not only the joy of music but her love of Christ.
Although falling ill in 2017, she continued to teach – no longer from the baby grand, but from her bedside, eventually retiring in early 2021. Her final student recital was held on June 13th.
A Celebration of Life is scheduled for July 10th at 11:00 am at East Valley Church, 2827 Flint Avenue, San Jose, CA 95148. The family respectfully requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made either to your local ASPCA or Samaritan's Purse.


View the online memorial for Nancy Florence Hopkins