James (Jim) Harmon Hopper, passed away and entered our Lord and Savior’s house Tuesday evening May 5, 2020 at the age of 92 with his loving wife and family by his side. Jim was a practicing CPA and lived life to the fullest until his brief illness and passing.
Jim was born on Dec. 7, 1927 in Denton, Texas to Robert Luther Hopper and Sybil Aldredge Hopper. He graduated from the Demonstration School High School of North Texas State University in Denton and entered college at the age of 15. In 1946, Jim volunteered and briefly served his country following World War II in the U.S. Naval Air Corps as a pilot trainee. After he was honorably discharged in late 1946, he completed his degree in accounting at North Texas State University in 1947 and joined the Lamp Division of General Electric. At the age of 19 he was the youngest traveling GE auditor. In 1951, he was drafted and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. Jim initially was as a scrub technician for neurosurgeons in the M.A.S.H. Unit 8209 and later was assigned to the Army Finance Corps in Tokyo, Japan.
After being honorably discharged from the Army in 1952, he joined the national accounting firm of Ernst and Ernst (Ernst and Young - EY) in the Dallas, Texas office. While in Dallas, Jim met the love of his life, Martha Ellen Warrington, his “dear sweet Martha “as he often referred to her. They were married in 1954 at the Little Chapel in the Woods on the campus of the Texas State College for Women.
Jim received his CPA license in 1955 which he maintained for 65 years. During his 33-year career, Jim worked in the EY offices of Dallas, San Antonio, Shreveport, LA, Little Rock, AR, and Jackson, MS. He was promoted to Partner in 1968 while in Little Rock and to Partner in Charge of the Jackson office 1969. Jim transferred back to the EY’s San Antonio office in 1978 where he retired early in 1985. That same year Jim began his independent CPA practice which he maintained until his passing.
Jim was committed to serving each community that he and Martha lived, including serving as a member of the Kiwanis and The Rotary in Little Rock, AR, Jackson, MS and San Antonio. He was a past president of Junior Achievement of San Antonio and was president and treasurer of the San Antonio Business Committee for the Arts.
As a man of deep faith, Jim was a life-long member of the Presbyterian Church, serving as a Deacon and Elder in Little Rock, AR, Jackson MS, and at First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio where he also served as treasurer and on the music and evangelism committees. He enjoyed other special ministries including leading bible studies where he worked, volunteering for Haven for Hope Dental Clinic, and delivering weekly ice cream for the homeless in downtown San Antonio.
Jim played the piano, trumpet, golf, card games particularly gin rummy, and was a Big Band music aficionado. He loved watching sports particularly the Texas Rangers, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Dallas Cowboys. But more than anything, he loved spending time with his immediate and extended family.
Jim was preceded in death by his father and mother, his brother Robert Luther Hopper, and sister Murrell Reed Wayland. Left behind to cherish his love and memories are his loving wife of 65 years Martha Hopper, his son Rev. Dr. Jimmy Hopper and wife Rev. Dr. Katie Kelly Hopper, his daughter Amy Hopper Hodges and husband Timothy W. Hodges, grandchildren Kelly Hopper, JoyAnna Hopper and husband Clint Swift, Scott Hodges, and Austin Hodges and wife Ashley Hodges, and great grandchildren Gavin Hodges and Kinsey Hodges. In addition, Jim is survived by numerous nieces and nephews who will miss their sweet Uncle.
The family extends a sincere thank you to the medical staff at Northeast Baptist Hospital for their care and compassion during Jim’s brief illness, as well as to his long-term care physicians Dr. Richard Clemons, Dr. George Palimino, and Dr. Jerome Fischer all of San Antonio.
Private services will be held on Monday, May 18 at Sunset Funeral Home Chapel and burial at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery with full military honors.
Honorary pall bearers are Kelly Hopper, JoyAnna Hopper, Clint Swift, Scott Hodges, Austin Hodges, Ashley Hodges, Bobby Sandlin, Russell Coleman, Roy Davis, Michael Davis, and Dave Rogers.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in Jim’s name can be made to the First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio, American Diabetes Association, and the University of the Incarnate Word.
