George Hopkins Jr.

SIKESTON -- George W. Hopkins Jr., 74, died Jan. 17, 2007, at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

Born Sept. 19, 1932, in Weldon, Ark., son of the late George W. and Florence Birdsong Hopkins Sr., he was a veteran of the U.S. Army serving during the Korean War. A member of the Fellowship Baptist Church in Sikeston, he worked as a mechanic for Jarvis Motor Co. for 13 years and for REA for 17 years before retiring.

On Oct. 11, 1952, in Caruthersville, he married Hazel Whitley who survives of the home.

Other survivors include: one son, Ronnie Hopkins of Jackson, Tenn.; one daughter, Jana Orr of Sikeston; one brother, Billy E. Hopkins of Wardell; one half sister, Ora Elam of Campbellsville, Ky.; five grandchildren, Rebecca Day, Elizabeth Moore, Kimberley Jackson, Ronnie Glen Hopkins II and Taylor Carter; and seven great-grandchildren, Ashleigh Schaffer, Jakob McGowan, Brooklyn McGowan, Rilee Moore, Reagann Moore, Zach Moore and Kaelyn Burmeister.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one son, Jeffery Wayne Hopkins; and five brothers and two sisters.

Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. today at the Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston where services are scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday. Dr. Ralph Buckley, a Baptist minister in Dyersburg, Tenn., will officiate.

Burial will follow in the Portageville cemetery with full military rites.

Pallbearers will be David Dickman, Ronnie Orr, George Berry Jr., Ronnie Glen Hopkins II, Billy Hopkins Jr. and Joshua Hopkins.

Paid obituary