Wayne Alan Hopkins

1970 - 2025

Delavan, WI - Wayne Alan Hopkins, age 54, died on January 4, 2025, peacefully at home in his sleep after a long and difficult battle with colon cancer. Although his life was deeply impacted by his illness, he filled all of his days with love, purpose, kindness, strength and humor.



Wayne was born on August 28, 1970, to parents Carmen Hopkins (née Hasselquist), and Donald Hopkins. He is survived in life by his wife of 25 years, Kathleen Hopkins (née Vercruysse), daughter, Carly, and stepson, Brian Wetterling. His children knew him as a man who taught them to work hard, love well, and to see the importance of getting dirt under your fingernails, lake water in your shoes and to enjoy all the little moments in life.



Wayne is preceded in death by his father, Donald Hopkins, stepmother, Harriet Hopkins, and stepfather, Bill Smith. He is loved and missed by his mother, Carmen Smith (née Hopkins), siblings, Donna Muller, Cathy, Wes, Bill, and Winston Hopkins and their loving partners, Ron, Dan, Bridget, Angela, Karelyn, and stepsisters Debra and Catherine "Fern" Smith.



Wayne was born and lived in Delavan, moved to Milton in his later school years, and graduated at Milton High School in 1989. He returned to Delavan where he lived the rest of his life.



Wayne grew up living and learning farming. In his youth he tagged along with his big brother, Wes, enjoying many a weekend or summer day at the farm. After high school, he joined the farming life that he loved, working for Seneca Foods and later McClellan Farms, where he worked for over 20 years. Everyone he worked with came to love him, and he in turn came to view them as his "farm family". Wayne loved every aspect of farming and devoted himself to his profession, so much so that in the last months of his life, struggling with advanced cancer, he achieved his final wish of bringing in the fall harvest.



Wayne led his life with a passion for the outdoors - fishing, canoeing and camping with his wife and children even when his daughter, Carly, was just 3 years old.



He also loved being with friends, playing a game of Euchre, and he never missed a Packer game. During baseball season, he watched every Brewers game he could, but if he was in the tractor during a game, he loved listening to Bob Uecker on the radio.



Wayne was a fisherman his whole life and some of his happiest days were spent in a boat, hunting muskies with his brother, Winston. After hundreds of casts, he netted many muskies, but on one of his best days, he caught a whopping 48 inch "beauty". But the real reward was always time spent on the water in the company of family and great friends. He shared his love of the outdoors with the youngest family members, often being the one to take them fishing, canoeing, and camping for the very first time.



Wayne was a good friend to so many people throughout his life - always eager to swap stories and share a laugh. His life was cut short, but memories of him will live on in the hearts of many.



Wayne was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in 2021, and he was told he might only have a year to live. But he fought for as long as he could - to make sure his loved ones had enough time to have him in their lives to say goodbye. It was never enough time - but he outlived his diagnosis twice over, and in the end, he was ready to rest.



"The seasons have to change - all things have to, for plants to grow the earth must die. Wayne knew the land, he knew that better than most. And while those left behind are in the darkest winter, spring will come again."



Wayne's family gives the most sincere and grateful thanks to the amazing people at Aurora at Home Hospice, especially his nurse, Kelly, who was a lifeline for his wife and children throughout the last weeks of Wayne's life.



Services for Wayne will be held at Lazarczyk Family Funeral Home located at 118 South 2nd Street, Delavan, on Sunday, January 12th. Visitation will be from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., followed by a funeral service at 2:00 p.m. A luncheon will follow at 2:45 p.m. at the American Legion Hall, directly across from the funeral home.



In lieu of flowers, the family asks that people please consider donating to the American Cancer Society or Casting4kids.org, which benefits the American Family Children's Hospital Cancer Center in Madison.