Al V. Hopper

Al Hopper was born on August 28, 1940, in a small, one-room shack in Detroit, TN to Vardeman and Maggie Hopper. He grew up in Covington, TN with his brothers, Emanuel and Sanford Campbell. As a child, their family were sharecroppers on a Tennessee cotton field. They were very poor, but thanks to Grandma Hopper, they were rich in family and a love for Jesus.

Once he was old enough, Al followed his brother Sandy to the Army and was enlisted from 1958-1962. He spent his time in France working in a warehouse. Thank goodness it was peacetime, and the Vietnam conflict was just beginning. After leaving the military, he moved to Chicago with Sandy. They both took jobs working at Woolworth’s Five & Dime.

Sometime shortly after that, he laid eyes on one of his co-workers, a beautiful northern, Catholic girl, his mom’s worst nightmare. A few months after he started dating Bonnie Borich, they went to the courthouse and were married on February 29, 1964. They were married for nearly 40 wonderful years before Bonnie passed in 2004. They had one son, Jamie, who is married to Leslie, with two amazing children, Kate and Dylan.

Jamie finally convinced Al and Bonnie to move from the big city to Michiana in 1981. South Bend is where much of Bonnie’s family lived, and they had a very close family. Jamie loved being around his grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. In 1984, they built their house in Granger that Al still lived in today.

Al and Bonnie loved family over everything. Al’s wish was to have lots of grandkids. Jamie always said that after he moved away, his parents would drive for hours, just for the chance to see him for 20 minutes. After Kate and Dylan were born, he became GP because Kate couldn’t spell Grandpa, and would attend as many of their events as he could. He was a regular family member in their house, Dylan’s part-time roommate, and an honorary member of Heartland Church in Fishers. He and Leslie had the most special relationship. She lovingly refers to him as her "Father-In-Love."  He loved playing games with his family, watching TV and sporting events, and was even known to paint Kate’s nails. He was with his family for every big event and holiday. He often told Jamie, Leslie and the kids that he loved them with his whole heart, and he lived that on a daily basis.

He made friends everywhere he went, whether it be church, the grocery store, pharmacy, restaurants, doctors’ offices, or wherever. He retired from Dexter Axle in 2005, and still went to breakfast with some of his work friends once a month. His favorite hangouts were Hacienda, Bible study at St. Pius, OC Lanes, Mr. G’s to drink beer, shoot the bull, and to shoot pool, The Galley to shoot darts, and in his fishing boat on the St. Joe River. One of his favorite things was to go to the beach with our family from Tennessee. Whether he was on the beach, his yard, or our front porch, he could often be found without a shirt on. He still tried to bowl in a league until recently, and although it was difficult for him physically, he still managed to bowl a 201 game at age 81.

Our family is grateful for all the people that lifted him up in prayer over the years. Thank you to all this friends that have loved him like family, especially since he was widowed. Thanks to Pete, Maureen, and Renie for going to Hacienda with him every week. Thanks to Ed for being his oldest friend and for playing darts and going out for Chinese with him. Thanks to Kevin and all the people at Mr. G’s for treating him like Norm from Cheers. He and Kevin made many trips to the UP, and Al loved every minute of it. Thanks to Steve for all the trips to Florida and for bringing him dinner often. Thanks to all that have stepped up to mow his grass and shovel his driveway when he was too weak, and to Sherie for getting his mail when he was out-of-town, and for getting prescriptions and groceries when he couldn’t.

Visitation will be held on Monday, June 13, 2022, from 4-7pm at Cruz Family Funeral Home in Osceola. There will also be one hour of visitation prior to the 12pm funeral service on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at Cruz Family Funeral Home and Al will be laid to rest next to his beloved wife at St. Joseph Valley Memorial Park with Military Honors following the service. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Kate & Dylan’s college fund and to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation—Indiana Chapter through the funeral home.

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