Tyson Hopkins

IN THE BEGINNING I was born on November 26, 1921, in Asher, Oklahoma; a small town in south Pottawatomie county near the South Canadian river. It was the end of the line for the Katy railroad (the train was “Old Beck”).

My dad was H.T. Hopkins (Hop) and my mother was Pearl. Hop was a community and Civic leader and a dedicated school man all his life. He was at Asher almost all his life. Pearl was active in civic and school activities and a dedicated organizer of things. I remember an Asher library and a bridge club among other things. She was a stringer for the Shawnee morning News and Tom Steed and sometimes wrote a “Pott County” news column. Both were doers and achievers. My sister is Juanita Kidd: a well known educator and co-founder of the Oklahoma Television Authority of OETA and a trustee and board member.

Asher was a fine place to grow up, don’t you think? It was self contained. Sunday belonged to the churches. Activity was concentrated in the school. We had an occasional bank robbery and Mr. Colt sometimes was a judge. All normal. I enjoyed it all. I prowled the woods, creeks, and the river and hunted often. I loved the solitude of nature.

I GREW UP and went to college at East Central and then on December 7, 1941 it all changed with the day of “infamy”. The change was immediate and complete. Our country was truly united.

I joined the Navy in those early dark days to fight those dirty rotten Japs. I have always been lucky; lucky to have had Pearl and Hop for parents, to have Asher; lucky in my navy assignments. I now believe in a God given purpose in life. Whenever I messed up, somehow it got straightened out and it came out right. I have always been proud to have served aboard a Navy warship in time of war in hostile waters. I will now tell you more.

In 1944 I really got lucky and was accepted into a pool of young men being assembled and schooled to become candidates for future Naval Officers. I was ordered back to the states and assigned to Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi for training duty. It was here that I got lucky again and met a cute little southern sweetheart, Virginia Dee…. The day I got my commission as Ensign I flew back to Jackson and we married the next day. I did not have any money so I drew a dead horse to pay for the honeymoon (You Navy guys know what that is). We had some great years: East Coast, Gulf Coast, West Coast. The purpose in life continues…. Best of all there were three above average children: Ginna Dee (successful artist and designer of things); John Tyson (a squared away Purple Heart Marine) and Jana Lee (A fine CPA) achievers all. There are also six grandchildren and two great grandsons all above average of course. Virginia died in 1990 after a long illness.

THE PURPOSE CONTINUES: I always stayed on activity duty as long as I could; drilled one night a week; took correspondence courses and performed annual training duty. The Navy paid me to go to some great places, war or piece, active or inactive. I saw some fine beaches complete with palm trees; trips to Hawaii, numerous transits of the Canal. I also got to check out some fine Officer clubs. I really liked GTMO. They had a fabulous side car. In 1946 they sent me to Bikini Atoll to do my part in the bomb test. This was operation Crossroads. The mushroom cloud is real. It was SCARY SCARY. Ginna Dee was born while I was there. It was a memorable experience!

And now a sea story….. on June 15, 1950. I became a member of the annual re-supply expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska. This is the location of an important early warning radar site and weather station and where Will and Wiley died. It is ice free a short time in the summer. We were passing offshore of the straits of Juan de Fuqua, the entrance to Seattle, when the ship got orders to put me ashore and I got orders to get to the war NOW. The North Koreans were wreaking havoc and we had let slip the dogs of war. I spent the next two years tending to minesweepers in the sea of Japan. I recall that we were flying in Marines from everywhere to man the Pusan perimeter. It held. Two years or so went by and I would soon be up for new orders.

The Navy detail officer was very helpful. I talked to him and asked for a billet where I could finish my college degree requirements. I only needed a few courses. He really came through form me! He gave me a high profile billet: Finance Director for the Supervisor of Shipbuilding and Industrial Manager located in New Orleans.

Thank you GOD. I know you made it possible.

In two years I had my college degree from Tulane; had a dream job in Jackson, Mississippi and was released from Active Duty….. Presto, had just finished a new mfg plant in Jackson and hired me as the chief accountant. Thank you GOD.

I spent the next several years enjoying my family life ( I made enough money so that Virginia could stay home and be a real mother and housewife). These were great years. We had all been military. Next door I had the State of Mississippi recruiter (Omaha Beach). Across the street we had a Pacific Fleet Navy Man. A Dutch pilot married a local girl and lived a few houses down. Another neighbor had been a P-47 pilot. We had a monthly neighborhood oyster bash and drinkfest. What great times!

I studied for the CPA exam which I passed and then went with a small local company to help them go public, which they did successfully. I then joined their accounting firm as a staff accountant. I stayed with them for a year or so until I got the experience needed before striking out for Oklahoma and hopefully a firm of my own sometime.

Jana Lee was born in Jackson. I remember it with great fondness and pleasure. WE MADE THE MOVE to Oklahoma City and I got on with a firm that had major clients and were always understaffed. Now comes the best of times and the worst of times. I will still in my 40’s when I developed early cataracts in both eyes and could not work my job. I could not wear either hard or soft contacts except for short periods of time. I had a good reputation and was able to get on with Bill Atkinson and his Oklahoma Journal. Bill had a lot of projects going. They all were needing cash flow. My time was all spent in hunting money and in money management. That was one of the bad times.

I always knew that GOD would help me. Not that I didn’t believe he would, I knew that he would and he did; Full time soft contact lens appeared and I could wear them. Next came Laser surgery to replace the lens. This worked for me. I then got a few clients together and my practice was born! This is one of the best times. But, Virginia began having heart problems. This was in the early 1970’s. Her cardiologist said that the mitral valve was not working properly and surgery was needed. I hired Dr. Zuhdi to do the surgery. It was successful….. one of the good times. I was able to get Virginia one of the penthouse rooms and I recall the good doctor stopping by to smoke a cigarette with her.

My practice was coming along nicely. I was able to hire a fine young CPA named C.J. Babbit and some really competent staff studying to be one. Now comes one of the strange times. I began having chest pains and my Doctor (Harry Singleton) referred me to the duty heart surgeon for an immediate Bi-Pass operation. This was done July 1, 1976.

MY OUT OF BODY experience. Some time during the course of the operation I became aware of the activity and lights and realized that I was above all of it and looking and seeing everything including the people. I then moved out of that area and recall looking down on city streets and people and thinking how much nicer it was up here. I recall comparing my movements to a porpoise; diving, moving around and having a great time. It was all very peaceful and very pleasant. I had no concept of time and I came to in the recovery room. Virginia told me later that one of the doctors came out and told her that I would not make it. The next morning the Med students came by to look at my burn marks, there were two. I think of this experience everyday with wonder and awe. I believe that I was on my way to Heaven. This was REAL… Believe it!!

LIFE MOVED ON. Virginia and I became serious OU football fans. Our daughter Ginna was a student and married another student, Clint Davidson, who recently retired as a Vice-President of Duke University. Ginna found us (borrowed) student ID and tickets. We went to every game and sat at midfield behind the band. I was eventually able to find us some season tickets. We went to the Orange Bowl many times and made many other football trips. We saw the great wishbone teams, the championship games and the game of the century. We saw Marcus Dupree play…. GREAT TIMES!!!

THE ACCOUNTING practice was still doing well. My friend and CPA Mike Marshall joined me as a partner and we continued on for some time until he left to start a business of his own.

IT IS NOW the fourth quarter. I was doing well enough to afford to pamper Virginia with some expensive jewelry, a mink coat and some expensive trips. We did London, the Rio, took the original love boat cruise to the Mexican resorts (while being entertained by Lou Rawls) went to the Bahamas a few times and to Las Vegas many times. On one of the Bahama trips I took a dive in a hard hat and air hose. I was hooked on the Underwater world. When we got home I got my fine son-in-law Gary Shelton to join with me in getting scuba certified. We did and then made many dives in pools, but mostly to Lake Tenkiller, a good dive spot. Virginia and I made a dive trip to the Caymans and took a diving Bell down to 800 feet to look at the coral wall. This was in the 80’s mostly and I was in my 60’s.

ON TO BOATING… Mike Marshall and I bought shares is a 42 foot Trojan on Grand Lake. Mike never used it much and I had it every weekend. Virginia loved it. She was always at the wheel. We had some very fine champagne and steak cruises. Gary was a great steak man and I helped out with the champagne (as did Virginia). These were good times. But they did not last. Money got tighter and worst of all Virginia’s health was worsening. She developed heart problems and was having liver problems causing serious related internal cirrhosis bleeding. This required a hospital stay and a complicated procedure to inject some substance directly into the area to seal it off. The liver was deteriorating. This continued until July 4, 1990… she died on that day. Virginia was a good person, a brave person, a loving mother and wife. I was indeed fortunate to have found her and marry her. GOD HELPED ME, I KNOW HE DID.

THE FINALE. After Virginia died I did nothing for awhile. Then, Mike Marshall kicked off a major undertaking and took me on as the auditor. I also kept getting new audit business; so I was pretty busy for awhile, but not real busy. I took up hiking and did trips often. I was in my 70’s and feeling great. I did the Wichita’s and even Lake Thunderbird before being introduced to a Swiss mountain climber and a world class hiker. She became my guide and showed me the Pacific Crest Trails, Yellowstone, Ruby Beach Trail, Ho Rain Forest and on and on. I think I saw every major park in the West and Northwest. I remember the Grand Canyon twice and seeing the Orca’s from one end of the Islands. My last trip was in 2005 when I was 84… All things come to an end.

In 2006, I had a Carotid Artery blockage that was corrected with a stent but some damage occurred from debris during the placement. I now have a carotid artery tht is 50% open on one side only and am handling it fine, but my hiking days are over.

TAPS for me is coming up. Do you know the first verse? I do: “Day is done, gone the sun from the earth from the sea and from the sky. Rest in peace Ty Hopkins GOD is nigh”

ALWAYS believe and have faith in GOD and yourself…and always do “What is Right”. That, and a belief in GOD and a purpose in life guided me. Try it yourself (if you have not already done so). YOUR destiny waits…..

CARRY ON

Tyson Hopkins

September 22, 2011