Charles William Hopper

On Tuesday, November 17, 2009, Charles William Hopper of Weatherford, Texas passed from this earthly existence to an unimaginably better one with Christ. Charles was 86. Funeral services for Mr. Hopper will be held 10:00 a.m, Friday, November 20, 2009 at White's Chapel of Memories in Weatherford. Interment will follow in East Greenwood Cemetery. A family visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday at White's Funeral Home. He is survived by his wife Marcelle Florence Hopper, age 85, his two adopted sons, Dr. Ken Chris Hopper and Charles "Dee" Hopper, Esq.,and his sole surviving sister, Jeannine Parker of Bowie, Texas. Charles was born in Bowie, Texas on July 17, 1923, to Claude and Dessie Hopper and grew up through very difficult times during the Great Depression. Upon graduating from Bowie High School, Charles enlisted in the U. S. Navy and served in the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign during World War II. Following his Honorable Discharge from the Navy, he began a 36 year career with Southwestern Bell Telephone. Shortly thereafter, Charles met Marcelle Florence deLeleu of Weatherford, daughter of Maurice and Donnie deLeleu. On July 3, 1948, Charles and Marcelle were married and began their life together in Weatherford. While Charles continued to work for Southwestern Bell Telephone, Marcelle taught elementary classroom and music education, gave piano lessons and played the organ at North Side Baptist Church. For sixty one years, Charles and Marcelle had a marriage and partnership that continually demonstrated their friendship, respect, commitment and love for one another in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse. Nothing meant more to Charles than providing for his family such that his sons would have more in life than he did. And this is exactly what he did. Charles and Marcelle's approach to security would seem foreign in today's America. They saved one paycheck and invested the other. Innovation combined with frugality meant the family was never denied any need or opportunity of importance. Charles and Marcelle encouraged education, supported activities and provided travel throughout their sons' lives. It is through their efforts that Charles' vision for his sons came to light. Dr. Ken C. Hopper, age 51, graduated Summa Cum Laude from Baylor University, received his medical degree from UTMB in Galveston, completed his residency at Southwestern Medical School, and recently received an MBA in a combined program from UTD/Southwestern Medical School. He is the Chief Medical Officer/ Vice-President of Clinical Innovation at Life Synch, a Humana Company. He also is the owner of a behavioral health specialty group and clinic, The Hopper Group. Ken currently lives in Fort Worth, Texas. Charles "Dee" Hopper, Esq., age 43, is also a graduate of Baylor University, with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Master's degree in Business. He then received his law degree from Oklahoma City University and attended the Master's of Law program at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He is a founding partner of the Law Offices of Lynch, Hopper & Salzano, LLP and currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ken and Dee will remember their father by his dry humor and wit, his care and generosity, and his loving and kind heart. A time didn't go by without him asking if either one was ok. Even within the last months, he would always ask, "Do you need anything?" We believe all those who knew Charles were lucky and blessed. However, we believe Charles and his family were blessed as well by all those they knew. Specifically, during his final days, Charles and his family were fortunate to have the aid of family caregivers, Nedra and Karen. Each treated Charles with dignity and respect, care and compassion, as if he was part of their own families.