William "Bill" Hopkins

Bill Hopkins passed away on June 1 at the Beech Tree Care Home in Ithaca.

Born in Manhattan in 1940, he graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School; his BA was from San Jose State and PhD from USC. Bill taught psychology at SUNY Cortland from 1970 until 2006. He loved teaching and was awarded The Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching. He worked with The Murray Center as well, always giving priority to those whose lives were not mainstream.

Upon retirement, he and his beloved wife Dorothy set up educational support for teachers working with students with special needs in Belize; they carried this project out for 5 years. He then devoted his energy, research, and time to working towards improving the lives of those who are getting on in years, advocating for better public transportation, weather-appropriate bus stops, quality activities, and knowledge of dignity for end-of-life medical care.

Bill loved carpentry work, his garden, travel, learning, and intriguing and invigorating conversations with people he knew as well as with those he did not.

He is survived by his children, Tara, Geoffrey (Pam), and his granddaughter Ursula (Breana).

A celebration of life will be held in his honor at The Homer Center for the Arts on September 18 from 2-5 pm. The family would like to extend our gratitude to all staff at The Brewster House, Walden Place, and Beech Tree Home for their care and kindness to our father in the last months, weeks, and days of his life.