Loren Hopkins

Loren Lee Hopkins, son of William M. and Wilma Wells Hopkins, died peacefully at home at 1:45pm on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017. He was born on the family farm near Jet, OK in the early hours of February 14, 1930.

He is survived by Sandra, his wife of 63 years, and children Lorie Ann (Michael) McDaniel, Robin Alayne (David) Goodnough and Jeffre Lee Hopkins. Also surviving are grandchildren Holly Ruth Hopkins, William Robin Goodnough and Michael Robin Goodnough. He is also survived by his siblings Billy (Joyce) Hopkins of Guymon, OK, Lynn (Carolyn) Hopkins, and Lyda (Bill) Walker of Ponca City, OK, and his sisters-in-law, Alma Hopkins in Rangley, CO and Etta Hopkins of Enid, OK, along with his many beloved nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Wilma, his brothers Donald and Grant, and his sister Linda.

Loren was baptized into Christ at the age of 21 and was a lifelong member of the Church of Christ. He graduated in 1948 as Salutatorian of his class at Jet HS and then attended Enid Business College where he was Student Body President and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting. He worked at George E. Failing Co. and then, was head of procurement at Serv-Air in Enid, OK. He married Sandra Yoder on October 10, 1953, and their 3 children were born over the next 8 years.

In 1970, the family relocated to Durango, CO where Loren accepted a position at the Southern Ute Community Action Program (SUCAP) in Ignacio, CO, working with Donna Young, SUCAP Director. He would work there for 18 years as Fiscal Manager, producing 18 years of perfect audits. Loren was an expert and enthusiastic ping-pong player during lunch hour games at SUCAP and was given the name The Silver Fox by Jim Formea and Vince Maloney, a name that stuck among the ping-pong crowd.

After leaving SUCAP, Loren worked for R&D Maintenance in Hennessey, OK for 3 years, writing government grants to maintain and operate federally owned facilities. He then returned to Ignacio, to spend the next 5 years working for HUD Housing, reconditioning older houses and supervised the planning, building and refurbishing of housing projects. He retired in 1997.

Known for his community and volunteer work on behalf of others, Loren worked as a volunteer for many organizations throughout his life. He was president of the Helping Hands organization at Serv-Air in Enid, raising money to help employees hit by hardship and disaster. He served as the vice-president and president of the Four Corners Sheltered Workshop in Durango. In the late 70s, when volunteer ambulance service started in Ignacio, Loren was instrumental in outfitting the ambulance and took EMT courses so that he could volunteer on ambulance runs. Over the 13 years that he volunteered, he received numerous awards for his volunteer service. He served as President of the Ignacio Volunteer Emergency Service (IVES) and was recognized for serving the most volunteer time as both an ambulance driver and EMT. He was recognized as the Florida Grange Citizen of the Year in 1980, receiving the National Grange Community Citizen Award in recognition of his outstanding service to the community and to mankind.

Any neighbor or friend of Loren knew that he was always the first to offer help to anyone in need whether it was pulling a car out of a snow bank, mowing a field or taking care of animals and gardens.

A memorial service will be announced at a later date. Please consider a donation in Loren's name to Mercy Hospice, 1 Mercado St., Durango, CO 81301.