Louise Ann Hopkins

Our Mom, Louise Ann Hopkins (November 19, 1936 - September 16, 2023) was born in and

spent her early years in Oswego, NY. She loved her parents, Dorothy Anita and Arthur Paschke

and her two siblings, Fritzi and Paul, and enjoyed being close to her Uncle Clarence and Aunt

“Toots”, with whom they shared family dinners and trips to Lake Ontario. Upon graduation from

high school, Ann attended Wagner College and then completed graduate work in Philadelphia at

the University of Pennsylvania. She studied English literature and continued to develop her love

of music. This included voice training for her gorgeous voice which she offered to the world

throughout her life, participating in various choral societies and church groups, not to mention

Christmas caroling and singing to her two grandsons.

She married Larry Hopkins in 1962 (div. 1982) and began the grand adventure of traveling the

world. Ann lived in Australia, India and Hong Kong and brought home a love of different foods

and an appreciation of culture. She gave birth to three daughters, two of whom survive her. Her

wide and varied interests continued to expand throughout her life and she shared these with the

people she loved in so many ways.

Ann was always working with her hands - knitting, tatting, crocheting. She owned a yarn shop

for a period of time and taught others how to stitch and knit and create. She knitted sweaters for

her children and the children of their friends. She was known as “Grammie Hopkins” to so many.

She also knitted hats and baby blankets for many charitable organizations.

Ann loved words and writing. She taught both of her kids to love to read and to think critically.

She was a member of many book groups throughout her life and enjoyed discussing books and

current events. She also taught more formally at Jonathan Edwards Academy and through

tutoring. Ann worked as an administrator in four of the Five Colleges, retiring from UMass

Amherst. She continued her interest in education and ideas through her work with a local map

company.

Ann was a committed Christian and Child of the Living God. Her faith was an anchor of her life.

She loved her church community and was an active, giving, and loving member.

Ann is survived by us, her daughters, Kimberley Hickie of Hadley, MA and Kristen Rushin of

Boone, NC and by her beloved son-in-law Andrew Rushin and her greatest gifts, her grandsons,

Timothy and Micah Rushin. Our Mom died on September 16 after a fairly lengthy decline due to

frontotemporal dementia. She loved words and music and these were gradually taken from her -

first her ability to speak and sing and then to read and write. Our Mom’s amazing spirit

continued to shine through these last years. She was kind and loving to everyone she came into

contact with and we were blessed that she knew who we were until the end. Our Mom

supported us and loved us unconditionally. She encouraged us to be ourselves always. She

taught us how to love, and be strong, and persevere even when we were hurt or afraid. We are

so very blessed to have had our Mom for so many years. She was and is loved beyond

measure.

 

That is her legacy and what we carry with us. She taught us to love and because of her, we

knew that we were loved. We never doubted that and we think what she would want is that all of

you reading this, know that too. If you feel inspired to do something in her memory, please look

around you and see that person who needs your kindness today. Be kind, love each other, and

remember our Mom.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Louise Ann Hopkins, please visit our floral store.