Rosemary Gelner Hopkins, 91, of Virginia Beach, went to be with her Lord on Sunday, August 31, 2014. The third of six children born on an Iowa farm to an Irish mother, Catherine Roach Gelner and a German father, Emil, she was a WWII veteran, having served in the WAVES; she retired from Civil Service at Little Creek Amphibious Base. She was preceded in death by her husband of 49 years, S.E. “Hoppy” Hopkins.
After Rosemary graduated from high school at age 17, she and her sister were the first females in Iowa to attend an NYA camp, where they learned to operate lathes, drill presses and other machines; this training enabled Rosemary to work in a munitions factory, making shells for the war. She truly was a “Rosie the Riveter.” Rosemary enlisted in the newly formed navy WAVES and was among the first women to serve at the Corpus Christi, Texas naval station. She always said that her nearly four years in the military were among the best of her life.
Rosemary, who attended the Harvest Assembly of God church in Chesapeake, had a servant’s heart, volunteering, visiting the sick, helping her family and anyone else who needed her. She loved God, duckpin bowling, difficult crypto puzzles, Bingo and constant activity. When she retired from her Civil Service career in 1984 Rosemary took on a series of part-time jobs and then began doing volunteer work: Meals on Wheels; DePaul, Leigh and Bayside Hospitals; and her church food bank were among the ways she served. She also made a point of regularly visiting anyone she knew who had to spend time in a hospital or nursing home.
From 1985 to 2011 Rosemary was an active member of the Norfolk Seniors Duck Pin Bowlers. She was also a member of the Sunshine Club, the Fleet Reserve and the Sentara Hospital Auxiliary. One of her favorite past times for many years was meeting friends for breakfast and Bingo; and she never missed a day of solving the difficult Crypto puzzle in the local newspaper. Rosemary also enjoyed traveling to her ancestral home of Ireland in 2000 and again in 2006. Rosemary was a member of Somme Avenue Church of Christ in Norfolk for 30 years, and she had attended Harvest Assembly of God in Chesapeake for more than six years at the time of her death. She was a great prayer warrior, devoting much of her time praying for her family and others.
All those who survive her will dearly miss their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. They are: one son, John W. Hopkins, of Satellite Beach, FL; four daughters, Charlene Cason, Linda Gregory and Sandra Keefer, all of Virginia Beach, and Suzanne Hamm, of Grandy, NC; 13 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by two sisters, Madonna Kirschbaum and Patricia Rodriguez, both of Mason City, Iowa, plus numerous nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Rosemary’s life, with visitation one hour prior, will take place at 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014, at the Woodlawn Funeral Home and Cemetery, located at 6329 Virginia Beach Blvd. in Norfolk. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.woodlawngroup.com
Arrangements by Woodlawn Funeral Home, Norfolk, VA.
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