Ellen Crawford Hopkins

Ellen was born July 8, 1933 in Bridgewater, VA to Samuel Clero and Stella Marguerite Ralston Crawford. She attended Radford College and graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Dietetic degree. Ellen interned at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, LA. While in New Orleans, she met Marine Lt. Delos Martin Hopkins whom she married in the courtyard outside her Bourbon Street apartment. Ellen and Delos started their married life in their Charles Street apartment and had a son, Robert Delos, and a daughter, Dianne Lynn, before moving to Camp Lejeune where their daughter, Mary Louise, was born.

Following her Marine husband's duty assignments, she and the family moved to Quantico, VA, Virginia Beach, VA, Nicosia, Cyprus, (where they escaped the inter-communal fighting between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots), back to Virginia Beach, and then to Oahu, HI. While Delos was stationed in Vietnam, Ellen and their children lived in Monroe, VA near her parents. After his tour of duty in Vietnam, the family moved to Linthicum Heights, MD and finally to their last duty station at NSA/Ft. Meade, MD.

After Ellen put her dietetic career on hold to raise her family, she went back to college and earned her teaching degree. She taught in many of the family's duty stations including Virginia, Hawaii, and Maryland. After Delos retired from the Marine Corps at the rank of Lt. Colonel, the family moved to Monroe, VA to be near Ellen's parents. She and Delos both went back to college and earned their master’s of education degrees from Lynchburg College, all the while having a good natured rivalry/competition about who did the best in their classes.

Ellen went back to her first career choice of being a dietitian after teaching for many years. She worked at Central Virginia Training School until her retirement in 2001. The travel bug bit Ellen early and she took several trips a year for many years, where she visited numerous countries and states, and even managed to throw in at least one cruise a year.

Ellen led a life of servant leadership. Besides being the First Baptist Church of Monroe’s organist and pianist for many years, she was the past President of the Lynchburg Women’s Missionary Union Association. She enjoyed traveling, sewing, gardening, caring for her flowers and orchids, canning, cross stitching, crafts, and game playing. Ellen also relished being Grammie to her fur babies.

Ellen was preceded in death by her husband, Lt. Col Delos Hopkins, USMC (Ret). She is survived by her three children: her son, Robert of Madison Heights, VA; her daughter, Dianne Parker (Bruce), of Columbia, SC; and her daughter, Mary (fiancé Dave DesChamps), of Richmond, VA; and her three fur grandbabies, Lucie, Lillie, and Sunny.

In addition to her children, Ellen is survived by her three sisters, Ruth Ragsdale of Monroe, VA, Lois Bonwell (Ray) of Cape Coral, FL, and Lelia Sullender of Fincastle, VA, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

The family would also like to recognize and thank Ellen’s wonderful caregivers Rillie Bryant, Jody Lotts, Peggy Bennett, and Heather Branham for the love and devotion shown to Ellen.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 pm on Tuesday, March 10, 2020 at Whitten Monelison Chapel.

The funeral will be at First Baptist Church of Monroe on March 11 at 1 pm and officiated by Reverend Glenn Coleman, Reverend Dwayne Martin and Reverend Raymond Bonwell III. A graveside internment will be held immediately following at Briarwood Memorial Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider donating in memory of Ellen Hopkins to the Lynchburg Humane Society or the UVA Transplant Patient Assistance Fund. Mailing address: C.O. Strickler Transplant Center, c/o April Johnson, UVA Health System, PO Box 800265, Charlottesville, VA 22908.