Obituary of William Hopkins

A memorial service celebrating the life of William English Hopkins, Jr. will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 12, 2011 in Greenlawn Funeral Home Chapel. On-line condolences may be sent to www.greenlawn-columbia.com. The family has entrusted Greenlawn Funeral Home with the arrangements. Mr. Hopkins died on Monday, November 7, 2011 at his residence. He was born on May 15, 1918 at Cabin Branch Plantation, Hopkins, SC to William English Hopkins and Mary Georgianna Hopkins Hopkins. Mr. Hopkins known by most people as ?Billy? or ?Cousin Billy?; went to Hopkins Grade School and graduated from Consolidated High School which is now called Lower Richland High School in Hopkins, SC. He furthered his education at the Citadel College in Charleston, SC and the University of South Carolina. William English Hopkins, Jr. and his cousin, Dr. Tucker Weston rode the train to and from Hopkins, SC to the Citadel in Charleston, SC. Mr. Hopkins was a World War II veteran in which he was a Purple Heart Recipient. He really enjoyed being an American Soldier. Mr. Hopkins had many friends in the United States Army and he talked about them all the time. Mr. Hopkins was 23 years old when he was drafted into the United States Army in September 1941 for nine months in Columbia, SC then to Fort Benning, GA for three months where he made 2nd Lieutenant. Mr. Hopkins came home on vacation for two weeks, and then he departed on a train to Asheville, NC and Memphis, TN to settle in at Camp Robinson in Little Rock Arkansas from September 1942-1943, then to Wachuka, Arizona in July 1944 to Marysville, Louisiana. He came home on leave for two weeks and then headed to Fort Meade, Maryland where he made 1st Lieutenant. Mr. Hopkins traveled to Camp Shanks, NY and boarded a ship to Grenak, Scotland and then boarded a train to Southern England and Hadden Hill. On July 2, 1944 war started D-Plus 12 and Mr. Hopkins got on a ship to Omaha Beach, St. Mary DeGrease France Replacement Center in field. Mr. Hopkins and his sister, Sarah Thomas Hopkins, a nurse in World War II visited each other in London, England on July 1945 and again when war was over in Munick Germany. After war was over, William English Hopkins, Jr. and his sister came home to Cabin Branch Plantation, where Mr. Hopkins became a farmer for 50 years. He never thought of living anywhere else, so Cabin Branch is where he died and was laid to rest in the Garden Field, Cabin Branch Cemetery, Hopkins, SC. Mr. Hopkins was a member of St. John?s Episcopal Church on Elm Savannah Road in Hopkins, SC. Mr. Hopkins was predeceased by three sisters, Mary Magruder Hopkins, Sarah Thomas Hopkins Patrone and Laura Jervey Hopkins; his paternal grandparents, English Hopkins and Laura Jervey Smith Hopkins; maternal grandparents, James Hopkins and Martha Magruder Hopkins. There are still angels among us; a special thanks is extended to Dorn VA Hospital, VA Home Health Care Groups and Hospice Care of South Carolina. No words can express the joy Mr. Hopkins got from your visits.