Phyllis E. Hopkins

She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Joseph R. Hopkins; daughters, Jean and Cathy Simonson; her “adopted sons”, Brian Soderholm and David Haight; grandchildren, Lauren and Justin Soderholm and his wife Tiffany; and great-grandsons, Noah and Liam. Several nieces, nephews, and other close family and friends will always remember her as the life of any party, who always used her sense of humor and singing of her favorite songs to entertain. Fittingly, Nat “King” Cole’s “Unforgettable” was among those songs and Phyllis will remain ‘unforgettable’ to those who knew her.

Born in Newark on December 10, 1929 to Charles and Vera Reynolds, Phyllis graduated from West Side High School. She was employed at Bell Telephone Company there for several years. After moving to Irvington in 1964, she became a sales associate with Casser (Bus) Tours. In the late 1970s, she joined Apple Photography Studios in Union, New Jersey as a sales and office assistant.

From the 1980s onward, Phyllis began a career for which she was a natural: as a devoted caregiver and mentor to her grandchildren. Phyllis welcomed her family for summers at her Normandy Beach home and accompanied them on several vacations along the East Coast. In recent years, she delighted in time spent with her great-grandsons, who affectionately referred to her as “GG.”

A great interior decorator with a flair for design, color, and style, Phyllis enjoyed using her vintage Singer sewing machine to create decor both for her home and those of her friends and family.

The family will host a celebration of life for Phyllis at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Phyllis’s memory be made to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee or to a charity of the donor's choosing.

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the Horizon Funeral & Cremation Services in Toms River, NJ.