peacefully in her sleep on Monday May 14, 2018. Throughout her last year, Ms Rip Van
Winkle would have marathon sleep episodes that would last a day. She would awaken
alert and refresh like it was a nap. Explaining the episode, She would laugh in disbelieve and say,“ Get Out” and then say, “I’m hungry.” She was born on Christmas Eve in Wilmington, Delaware to Irving Jr. and Norma Hopkins and to her sibling’s displeasure, held up Christmas of 1947. She grew up in Brookside and graduated from Christiana High School in 1966. She worked in admissions at the Wilmington Hospital and along with her co-workers, was a weekend warrior with the medical unit of the Delaware National Guard. She joined the army (1974-1977) as an x-ray technician and served in Taegu, Korea and at Fort Monmouth, N.J. She was honored to be a postal worker for 25 years and loved the camaraderie and friendship she developed as a distribution clerk until her retirement in 2004. She was a Floridian snowbird until she became a resident in 2012. Among her pleasures of connecting with facebook and watching her Eagles win the Super bowl; she enjoyed RV traveling, boating, camping, Miata rides, wood working, home projects and cooking. However, what brought consummate joy to her life was spending time with her grandkids, family, friends and pets. She found a piece of Heaven with her Delaware Bayshore Campground friends and also with her friends and teachers from the Chakra Center. She was an inspiration to many and will be missed beyond words. She was true love, pure honesty and your best friend forever, because ”Once you were her friend, She was never letting you go.” She is preceded in death by her parents; her grandmother, Mary Baldwin; her brother, John Hopkins; and her beloved sister Sandra Hopkins. She is survived by her life partner and wife of 37 yrs, Elsa Sunnie Mendiola of Sun City Center Florida; her loving daughter, Susan (Skip) Lowe; grandchildren, Christina Jennifer, John Wesley and Jacklynn Lowe; great grandchild, Roxana May; brother Irv (Rhonda) Hopkins, sister Carolyn Brown, and a host of nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her loving childhood best friends, Frances Huff, and Nona Cunane; her special friends Barbara Ives (Thank you for the Belly Laughs) and Doni Doty(Thank you for the Spiritual Journey). The family would like to extend a special thank you to the green team of Lifepath Hospice of Sun City Center. Thank you Kelly, Lynn, Jerome, Rebecca and Jenna. A Celebration of Life gathering will be held in Delaware at a later date. Memorial Donations can be made in her to Elmira’s Wildlife Sanctuary P.O. Box 63, Wimauma, Fl 33578 and Life Path Hospice, Inc. Sun City Center, 3723 Upper Creek Dr., Ruskin Fl 33573.
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