B.J. Hopper

On Monday, Aug. 22, 2011, at 11:26 a.m. B.J. Hopper left this realm. He was a resident of Baton Rouge for 60 years. He was born in Bentonville, Ark., on Dec. 5, 1924. He was 86. Very young he met an unusual person - his wife. They were married for almost 60 years. He was in the Army during World War II. He was among the third wave of soldiers on D-Day to "hit" the beaches. He was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, Bronze Star and Marksman Medal. His discharge papers said he was qualified to become a truck driver and a sniper, which made for a lot of interesting conversations when I was young. He got his B.A. from Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State, and his M.A. from LSU. He was a speech and hearing therapist in Ascension Parish for 25 years; then retired at age 49 to do movies et al. Some of the movies he was in were "A Woman Called Moses," "The Ponder Heart," "The Toy," but is best remembered as Mr. Alfred the trailer park owner in "Because of Wynn Dixie." My dad also was an actor and board member for Baton Rouge Little Theatre acting in "The Sunshine Boys," "Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolf?" "I Never Sang for My Father," "Gypsy" and as Fagin in "Oliver." He is survived by a son, Mac; and grandson, Drew; many in-laws who treated him and loved him as a brother, and nephews and nieces who loved him as Uncle Bob. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jack Hopper and Edry (Lough); and wife Alexa (Williams). We will miss you and do already. "Good night sweet prince, may flocks of angels bring thee to thy rest." Shakespeare. Any donations may be made in my dad's name to St. Joseph Hospice or Baton Rouge Little Theatre. A memorial will be held at St. John Methodist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 30, at 1 p.m.