Please accept our condolences on the passing of your sweet Mother, Mary Jo.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.  In deepest sympathy, Teresa and Mike Margarita

I will truly miss this good woman! It is an honor to celebrate her Mass of Christian burial.

Father Vince Rogers

TRIBUTE TO MY MOTHER
  BY JOHN M. HOPKINS    

The world my mother recently departed from  was a lot different place than the one she was born into.  In Mom's early life, there were no conveniences or the technology that we enjoy today.

There was no central heating in homes.  Warmth was provided by coal or wood burned in a fire place.   Instead of electric blankets, hot water bottles were placed underneath the blankets or lit coals put into pans with long handles and placed  underneath the bed.

Air conditioning was only available in movie theaters.  Fans were the main device used for keeping cool.  People spent a lot of times outdoors in warmer weather frequently sitting on their front porch visiting with family and friends.

There were no television sets, computers, DVD players, cell and smart phones.  People listened to radio programs.  Movie theaters were another popular form of entertainment.  Admission price was 25 cents and a soft drink, box of popcorn or candy bar 10 cents.

Transportation was a lot different too.  Most people in Mom's early life did not have cars.   The majority  of people either rode buses or streetcars, basing their lives are the mass transit schedules.

Mom was born in south Kansas City, Missouri and her early life was spent in the Midtown,Plaza   and Brookside areas and other adjoining neighborhoods.  

Mom's father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease  when she was a small child and thereafter spent most of his life in medical facilities   As a result, Mom and her Mother  lived mostly with relatives and a few years with just each other.

My Mother attended Visitation grade school and St. Theresa's Academy high school both located just south  of the Plaza.  She received an excellent education from the Sisters of St. Joseph Carondelet order, graduating in 1942 on the National Honor Society.  To illustrate my point, I recently asked Mom when to use either  Who or Whom.   Without hesitation, she gave me explicit instructions on when to do so.

My Mother and Father met at a Funeral Home attending 2 different wakes.  They married a little over 1 year later on October 11,1952.  I (John) was the first born child, followed by Janet and Debbie.  As a family, we took annual summer vacations  to Point-o-Pines Lodge in Lyons Park, Colorado for many years until my Father's unexpected death from heart trouble on February 26, 1970.

Mom then had to adjust her life, raising 3 children on her own, dealing  with  the problems of reentering the work force on a full time basis, mainly employed by the Government of Kansas City, Missouri.  My Mother also took care of her elderly relatives, both visiting them on a regular basis and attending to their financial affairs when they became unable to do so.  

Mom retired from the workforce on November 25, 1984.   My mother was a natural hostess, and enjoyed entertaining both family and friends at the house.  In 1986 she had the enclosed porch converted into a much larger family and entertainment room.   Mom spend the next 30 years both enjoying the company of  family and friends and watching television shows and movies. 
My Mother  belonged to St. Andrews the Apostle Catholic Church for 36 years and was a Lector for 10 years.

Mom  was quite a global  traveler.,  Her first  international trip was to Ireland, the country of our ancestors in 1979 which she visited 5 times.  Mom took annual trips  through 2003 until her declining health prevented  her from doing  so.   My Mother and I took many trips together over the course of several years, mostly with the Air France travel club.  All of us  would meet each year at Parades bar in O'Hare International Airport and visit with each other sharing a few drinks before our flight departed.  Most of these trips were to European countries, but we did go to Egypt & Morocco one year and visited Russia..  Mom took some trips on her own, including the Holy Land and China.  She visited the Forbidden City and got to walk on the Great Wall of China

Another activity that My Mother and I did together was to attend  the Kansas City Chiefs football games.  We were season ticket holders for 23 years, experiencing  the ups and downs with the team.  We car pooled with two neighbors, Don and Vi McCoy for the last 20 years, tailgating both before and after the games, with food & champagne, win or lose.   We also went to a few away games with the Chiefs.  Mom and the McCoy's went to an exhibition game in Berlin, Germany in 1990 shortly after the fall of Communism in Europe.  She brought back pieces of the Berlin wall for my sisters and me, which I still have.

Mom was an animal lover and most of her life had mainly  cats, but a few dogs as well.   She had a special  fondness for White  Persian  cats.  Mom also contributed frequently to such animal organizations as The Humane Society and Alley Cats.

I have many happy memories of my Mother.  And I want to write about  two of them.  The first one happened when I was 5 years old.   Our family had just moved into a new house in a relatively new neighborhood.  About 5 months later I started kindergarten.    The school that I would  be attending  was about one-third of a mile from our house on the top of a hill.  Mom told me on the first day of school she would walk with me to make sure I make it successfully.  But the next day i would  go by myself.  On the second day, I was full of trepidation.  I can't remember what exactly went through  my mind,  Maybe I felt I could be kidnapped on the way to school and never seen alive again.  Perhaps I would take a wrong turn and wander aimlessly around the neighborhood eventually arriving at school way after it started.  That one-third of a mile looked more  like 3 miles through the eyes of a 5 year old child.  Mom told me that she would stay in the front yard of our house and wave  to me when I arrived at the school building.   I made it to school successfully  without any mishaps.   And when I arrived at the top of the hill Mom was waving at me enthusiastically  with both of her arms, telling me that I had made it.. To me that was praise from Caesar .  I felt that I had just climbed Mount Everest.   I  happily  waved back to my Mother and found my way to the classroom.  

Another fond memory occurred during my senior year at the University of Missouri in Columbia.  Mom came to visit me one weekend by  bus on a Saturday.   That night we went to Harpo's, a happening  bar with good food.    I met some friends there.  They took to Mom right away.   My mother,  being the generous woman that she was, bought a few rounds of beer for 5 or 6 of us. 

My friends could not get over the fact that an older adult whom they just met was not only interested in their lives, but also bought a few rounds of beer for some poor students.   One of my friends who had a cynical outlook on life, would tell me at times over the next few months that my Mom was really neat. 

Indeed, there have been many changes in the world during my Mother's lifetime.   Some of them Mom liked, while others she didn't.  But I really feel that Mom has always been the same person from the beginning to the end of her life.   God gave my Mother a blithe spirit which she never relinquished, even in the latter years when her health declined, preventing her from enjoying some of the things she previously could, and had to depend on the assistance of others to carry out basic activities and functions.  

Mom was given a diagnosis  of  congestive heart failure in stage 4 level with little time left  to live 8 to 9 years ago.  God granted her some extra time with us, but now she has been called home to be with the Lord and His Loved Ones forever.  As St. Paul said, Mom has fought the good fight, finished the race and has been awarded her crown of righteousness.  And as much as we want our Mother to stay with us for awhile longer, how can we deny Mom receiving her eternal reward,  which is beyond our reasoning and understanding. 

On one of our trips to Paris, Mom and I visited the Montmartre,   A young artist did a sketch of Mom, drawing her much younger than she actually was.  Mom pointed that out to the artist and he replied to my Mother that was the way  he saw her.  I believe intrinsically  Mom felt like a young person and saw others that she encountered  in her life as friends or potential friends.  

As family and friends  of Mary Jo Hopkins, we might see her passing as a chapter in our book of life that is now permanently closed.   But if looked through eternal eyes that all who remain in God's friendship, we  will be united with Him  and our loved ones in Paradise forever.  I think that the French say it best.  Au Revoir (Until we meet again)

God bless You Dear Mother.

Your loving son John

OBITUARY

Mary Jo Hopkins

November 25, 1924 – February 12, 2017

Newcomer's White Chapel Funeral Home & White Chapel Cemetery

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