Francis Gilbert Hopkinson – Dec. 10, 1936 – Feb. 19, 2020
Francis Gilbert Hopkinson, 83, of Cottage Grove passed away on Feb. 19, 2020. He was born in Newburyport, Mass., to Charles and Evaline Hopkinson on Dec. 10, 1936.
LCDR Hopkinson was a career ASW Navy pilot. He served on the USS Enterprise as an air traffic control officer during the Vietnam War.
Francis earned a business degree at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., where he met Patricia Doerges, whom he married on Aug. 5, 1967.
The Hopkinsons lived in Hayward and San Diego, Calif., and at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai, HI. Known as Hop, he retired from the Navy and the Hopkinsons returned to San Diego.
There, Hop continued to pursue his love of gardening, which led to moving to Eugene to earn a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of Oregon.
Later the couple moved to Creswell and then to Cottage Grove. They were snowbirds in Sun City West, Ariz., for 10 years and all of Hop’s yards were especially beautiful. Hop was also an exceptionally good photographer.
Hop died in his sleep at home after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. A Memory Service was held for him at Cottage Grove St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on Feb. 23.
The Navy will be spreading his ashes in the Pacific Ocean.
Hop was a caring, talented, intelligent, wonderful man and he is sorely missed.
