Donnie Ray Hopper

SAGAMORE BEACH - Donnie R. Hopper of Sagamore Beach passed away at the age of 73 on July 5, 2015 after his battle with cancer. He was the husband of Charlotte A. Hopper of Sagamore Beach for 53 years.

Donnie was born at home in Dunklin County, Missouri on Nov 21, 1941 and was the eldest son of the late Ranford P. Hopper of Arbyrd, Missouri and Maxine Hopper of Senath, Missouri. Growing up his school year was based around the crop cycles and was paused to plant the crops in the spring and in paused again in the late summer to harvest the fields of cotton, corn, watermelon and soy beans to name a few. He often used the money he earned in the fields to support his brother and sister as well as to buy clothes for school. He attended Senath High School but later left in the twelfth grade to enlist in the Air Force as an aircraft mechanic.

Otis AFB, Massachusetts was Donnie's first duty station where he worked the F-86, F-101, F-106 and F-15 aircraft throughout the years. He had a break in service during which time he switched to the Massachusetts Army Guard as a communications linesman 211th ARTY, 4th Howitzer Brigade in Buzzards Bay and worked for Gillis and Tivey in Hyannis, Falmouth Hospital, Friendly’s, as well as other part time jobs. He later returned to the Air National Guard as a Crew Chief and worked as a Federal Technician until his retirement in 1999. Some of his deployments with the 102nd Fighter Wing included Iceland, Holland, Tyndall and Arizona among many others. In 1997 Donnie received his most cherished honor- the Thomas Flynn Award. This Award was given to him for “...The Member Who Displays The Highest Ideals of Patriotism, Morale and Dedication to Duty” which he was very proud of.

Throughout the years, Donnie worked with children in Boy Scouts, Royal Rangers and Little League Baseball. He adored his family and was always willing to help out a friend, put a band-aid on a scraped knee or teach a teenager how to change the plugs in a car engine. Most recently, Donnie worked at The Market Basket in the deli until he got sick and reluctantly had to leave. He almost always had a part-time job or two but amazingly he had the time to go camping for the weekend or help a friend in need. He truly was a person to emulate.

Besides his wife Charlotte, Donnie is survived by his son Michael and his wife Julie Hopper of Centerville and his grandchildren Jacob, Dylan and Cameron. He is also survived by his sister Glenda Godfrey and brother Daryl Hopper both living in Senath Missouri, as well as, many nieces and nephews living in Guam, Arkansas, Missouri and New England.

A memorial service will be held at 11:30am on July 13th at The Swift Memorial Methodist Church, 10 Williston Rd Sagamore Beach, MA 02652. A celebration of his life and reception will be held immediately following the service. A committal service will be held on July 14th at the Massachusetts Military Reservation Cemetery at 1:30pm. In lieu of gifts and/or flowers, a donation in Donnie's name can be made to the Wounded Warrior Project or a charity of your own choice.