Max D. Hopper

Memorial Services for Max D. Hopper were held at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Irving, TX, on Saturday, January 30, 2010. Max, 75, died Monday, January 25, 2010, at Medical City Dallas Hospital, a day after suffering a massive stroke. Max was born November 4, 1934, in Clawson, Angelina County, TX, to Irvin W. and Norma (Dunn) Hopper in the family home of William W. and Sarah (Dunn) Hopper. Max attended his first four years at Central and, at age 9, moved to Texas City where he graduated in 1951. He played the trombone in the award-winning Stingaree band. He attended the University of Texas and graduated from the University of Houston. Max served three years in the US Army. He loved fly fishing and was an avid golfer. Max was of the Christian faith. Max is survived by his wife, Jo; son and wife, Stephen B. Hopper, MD and Barbara Chappell, DDS, of OKC, OK; daughter, Laura S. Wassmer of Prairie Village, KS; grandchildren: Alana Hopper, Nicholas and Carolyn Wassmer; sister, Nancy C. Doyle of Lufkin; brother and wife, I. Daniel and Julie Hopper of Mercer, PA; brother and friend, Richard D. Hopper and Janet Sharp of Richardson; sister-in-law, Judy Poole of Irving; nieces: Janet D. Grubbs of Nacogdoches, Rhonda D. Edmond of Liberty, Jennifer D. Boone of Huntington, and Elizabeth H. Hale of Lemoyne, PA; nephews: Randall W. Doyle of Pflugerville, John W. Hill of Garland, John Poole of Irving, Trey Doyle-Edmond of Liberty; long-time family friend and Executive Assistant, Doris King of Dallas; and many other relatives and friends and his Scotty dog, Blair. Max was preceded in death by a sister, Joann. Max was in research at Shell Oil in 1953 and joined EDS in 1967. In 1970 he worked for United Airlines and joined American Airlines in 1976. He worked for Bank of America in CA in 1982 but rejoined AA in 1985 as Sr. VP of IT and retired in 1995 as Chairman of SABRE Group. He formed a consulting firm, Max D. Hopper Associates specializing in strategic use of advanced information systems. Max was recognized as a 20th century technology pioneer and considered the "father of airline automation in travel agencies." Max was inducted into the Dallas Infomart's Information Hall of Fame; received the J.D. Edwards Leadership Award for Innovation in Action; the Tech Titans Award in North Texas;, and other awards in IT industry. Max served on the boards of several public and private companies and was a member of the Advisory Board of the DFW USO. As a strong supporter of higher education, he was a member of the Advisory Board of UT Dallas Graduate School of Management and the Executive Board of SMU's School of Engineering and Applied Science, and as an advisor to the TCU Neeley School of Business. Donations may be made in memory of Max Hopper to the Dallas-Fort Worth USO, PO Box 613306, DFW Airport, TX 75261.