August 2024
Reverend John R. Hopkins passed away Saturday, August 10, 2024.
He was born May 1, 1962, in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of George and Joan (Gabrielson) Hopkins. John married Donna Arand in 1985 in Overland Park, Kansas.
Reverend Hopkins received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985 from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri in 1995.
John was a pastor for 29 years. He ministered to churches in St. Petersburg, Florida; Topeka, Kansas; Savannah, Georgia; and Hicksville, New York. John was an avid Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs fan. He was a proud alumnus of Kansas State University. John was also known as a dad joke connoisseur. He loved the Lord and wanted everyone to know.
John was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Kankakee, Illinois.
Surviving are his wife, Donna, of Bourbonnais; three sons, Nathan (Kourtney) Hopkins, David (Laura McCauley) Hopkins, Jacob Hopkins, all of Bourbonnais; one daughter, Rachel Hopkins, of Nairobi, Kenya; three sisters, Debbie (Tim) Adams of Fort Worth, Texas, Nancy (David) Burandt of Lexington, Kentucky, Barbara Orsund of St. Louis, Missouri; and three grandchildren, Mason, Preston, and Easton.
John was preceded in death by his parents.
Visitation was held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the 11:00 a.m. funeral service on Thursday, August 15, 2024, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 348 E. Merchant St., Kankakee, Illinois 60901. Reverend Karl Koeppen officiated the service. Burial followed in All Saints Cemetery in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
Memorials may be made to Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort Dog Ministries.