Bryant L. Hopkins, Jr. ’46

Bryant L. Hopkins, Jr. became one with the Lord on August 19, 2019 at the home of his daughter in Richmond, Virginia after a protracted battle with several health issues.

Known as Bud to his family, Bryant was born on August 13, 1926 in Waterville, Maine, son of Bryant L. Hopkins, originally of North Haven Island, Maine, and Marjorie Hall Hopkins, originally of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. He graduated from Waterville High School in the class of 1944. A proud veteran of the Merchant Marine, Bryant graduated from Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, a member of the Class of 1946.

Bryant then went to sea as a licensed Marine Engineer, visiting Japan and the Philippines. He attended the University of Maine, graduating in 1950 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. After two years active duty in the Navy, Bryant worked for several manufacturing companies designing heavy power equipment, ship machinery, textile machinery, and scanning electron beam microscopes as a Professional Engineer, registered in Massachusetts and Maine.

Bryant was fortunate enough to be loved by and married to two wonderful women in his lifetime. He was married to Joyce Evelyn Seyferth Hopkins, originally of Racine, Wisconsin, from 1952 until her death in 1988. Bryant and Joyce are survived by four children: Joanna L. Hopkins of Norridgewock, Maine; Sarah E. Hopkins of Richmond, Virginia; Bryant L. Hopkins III of Milford, Massachusetts; and Rebecca J. Ballou and her husband, Thomas Ballou of Watertown, Massachusetts. He is survived by three grandchildren: grandson, Cameron B. Hopkins and his wife, Rachel Bell Hopkins of Reno, Nevada; and twin granddaughters, Mikayla J. Hopkins and Mackenzie E. Hopkins, each of Milford, Massachusetts. In 1995 Bryant moved to Arlington, Virginia and married Marjorie Ritter, who predeceased him in March 2019. Bryant and Marjorie are survived by Marjorie’s two daughters: Elise Clough and her husband, Victor Clough of Arlington, Virginia, and their children and grandchildren; and Carol Thorne and her husband, William Thorne of Arlington, Virginia, and their children and grandchildren.

Dearest to Bryant’s heart was the family’s summer cabin on East Pond in central Maine, where the family has gathered every year since 1945. Bryant’s main interests were family, books, ships, and hiking. He was an active member of several churches over the decades, serving as Trustee and handyman, and singing bass in the church choir, where he had a “song’ for every occasion. A memorial service will be held at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 1500 Glebe Road Arlington, Virginia at 4 p.m. on Friday, October 4, 2019. Interment will be on a date next summer in Maine, where his ashes will be spread at the base of the same twin maple tree where his first wife Joyce’s ashes were spreads decades ago.