Larry Michael Hopkins passed away on Saturday, October 5, 2024, at his home, due to prostate cancer.

Larry was born on June 2, 1941, at the Grand View Hospital, to Mildred Elvira Nyman and Roy Hargraves Hopkins. Not long after, he and his mother moved to Ashland to live with his aunt and grandfather while his father commanded a Company of Army Engineers in the South Pacific.

After WWII he and his parents resided for 3 years in Jones, MI. Larry spent the first year in bed recovering from Rheumatic Fever. He then attended the one-room school in Jones, MI. The family moved back to Ashland, WI, where both his parents were employed by the Lake Superior District Power Company. Larry was in Cub Scouts and attended the Beaser School.

Larry was in seventh grade when his father was transferred as manager of the Ironwood Office of the power company. He attended Sleight School, Central School, and L.L. Wright High School. In High School, he was in the choir, ski team, track team, and Jr. ROTC. He became an expert sharpshooter and excelled in Upper Peninsula competitions. He also became a Red Cross Lifeguard and spent two summers as a lifeguard at a Boy Scout Camp. In Scouting, he earned the rank of Life. He was also a member of the Presbyterian Church Choir and taught Sunday School there. It was at that church where he met the girl he would marry.

Larry won an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. The education and discipline at the USNA were rigorous. Larry accommodated himself to the environment and in addition to his studies, joined the Protestant Chapel Choir and The Small-Bore Rifle Team. Upon graduation, as an Ensign in the United States Navy, he spent 10 weeks at the Biological, Chemical, and Nuclear Warfare Defense and Firefighting School and then reported to a destroyer in Yokosuka, Japan. After participating in combat and other operations in the South China Sea the ship returned to the home port of San Diego, California. Larry immediately took leave, returned to Ironwood, and was married to Kristin Kay Ehnbom. Larry was transferred to the guided missile cruiser USS Providence, and the couple moved to Bremerton, Washington where the ship was being repaired, and then back to Yokosuka Japan.

In December 1968 Larry resigned his commission and the couple moved to East Lansing, MI, where Larry enrolled in the Master of Mathematics Program at Michigan State University. Soon after Larry completed his studies his Mother-In-Law, Juanita Ehnbom called to inform him that one of the math instructors at Gogebic Community College was resigning, Larry applied and was hired. The couple moved to Bessemer, MI, and Kristin went back to MSU to gain a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree. When Kristin returned, they started looking for a farm and found one in the Town of Kimball. They moved in in January but when the snow melted, they found there was a lot to be cleaned up.

The couple remained busy. They raised Dairy Goats, two of which were in the top ten milkers on official tests in the United States. They added llamas and sheep. Larry made hay for the livestock during the summers. He became a member of The Chamber Singers, was on the board of Theatre North and was in over 30 theatrical productions, taught community lifeguarding and CPR, and was a founding member of the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department. He was also the Safety Programs Director of the Board of the Ironwood Red Cross.

Larry taught at GCC for 36 years during which time he obtained a Masters of Computer Science Degree from Michigan Technological University and directed two Grants at GCC, one of which involved installing a completely new computer and new administrative software. He was also Chair of the Math and Science Division for several years before his retirement. A month and a half after his retirement, Kristin was diagnosed with a brain tumor and passed away after a courageous 3- year battle at home.

Larry started dispersing the Livestock as they were too much for one person to handle. Sometime during this process, he started courting Deborah Daniels, another instructor at GCC. She convinced him to completely sell the livestock so that they could travel, which they did. Deborah is a watercolorist and a ceramicist and has had several exhibitions in the local area, together they have visited many areas in Central Europe, the Mediterranean, Central America Australia, and New Zealand.

Larry is survived by Deborah, Daniels; cousins, Roy and Judy Hopkins of Los Angeles, and cousins Robert and William Rohlf of Arizona.

Following Larry's wishes, no formal services are taking place. Thank you to Regional Hospice for your wonderful care.