Edgar Wilson Hopper

1929 - 2019
Reverend Edgar Hopper, retired Episcopal Deacon who directed St. Augustine's Slave Gallery Project, dies at 90



The Reverend Deacon Edgar Wilson Hopper, Jr., who served as Executive Director of the St. Augustine's Project from 1999 until retiring in 2012, died in Manhattan on August 15, 2019. Hopper was born on May 5, 1929 in Brooklyn, NY, to the late Edgar Wilson Hopper, Sr. and Geraldine Verchild Hopper. After graduating from Stuyvesant High School, he attended Howard University in Washington, DC and was a member of the Howard Players and the Canterbury Club. He was initiated into Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. in 1947. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in Psychology in 1950 and 1952.



In the 1960s, Hopper broke racial barriers in advertising as an account executive at Foote, Cone & Belding. He was Vice President of the Group for Advertising Progress (GAP) and helped Blacks find advertising careers. He joined Ziff-Davis Publishing Company in 1969, as Manager of Corporate Marketing Services and in 1971, became the first Black publisher of Stereo Review and Popular Electronics. He was promoted to Vice President and Publisher, Electronics Division in 1974 and Vice President, Marketing in October, 1980. After leaving Ziff-Davis, Hopper became Vice President of Advertising and Marketing for Black Enterprise, then later established E.W. Hopper Associates, a marketing consulting firm.



After retirement from marketing, advertising, and publishing, Hopper answered God's call to ordained ministry, studied at the Episcopal General Theological Seminary and was ordained to the Diaconate in the Episcopal Diocese of New York on May 20, 2000. He served at St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church and through his efforts, funding was raised for research, preservation and the restoration of the historic St. Augustine's Slave Galleries. He was inducted into the CityLore "People's Hall of Fame" in 2004, in recognition of this achievement. Deacon Hopper also mentored youth, provided guidance to friends, and served those impacted by tragedy and devastation. After the 9/11 World Trade Center Attack, he spent months at Trinity Church Wall Street, St. Paul's Chapel, ministering to rescue workers and blessing human remains uncovered in the rubble at Ground Zero. In 2010, he made two mission trips to Haiti to assist the Salesian Sisters of St, John Bosco with recovery efforts after a catastrophic earthquake.



Deacon Hopper was pre-deceased by his wife Gertrude Skinner Hopper, and leaves to mourn, his children, Janis Lorraine Smith (Charles "Chuck" T. Smith II), Paul Nelson Hopper (Patricia Matzenbacher), and Joseph Clinton Spaulding; former wife Janet Morgan Hopper; grandchildren Charles (Norris), Jeannette, David, Gregory (Jenna), Nicole, Joseph, Justan, and J'ai Pierre; and great grandchildren, Carmen, Jaiden, Jacob and Taylor; his beloved nephew Walter Skinner (Crystal) and niece Suzanne Skinner; many cousins and countless dear friends. A funeral service for Deacon Hopper will be held at 11:00 am on Monday, September 23, 2019, at Trinity Episcopal Church Wall Street, St. Paul's Chapel, 209 Broadway at Fulton Street, New York, NY. Memorial donations in his name can be made to Episcopal Charities of New York.