Kathleen Potemko Hopkins

Kathleen Hopkins was an extraordinary person who lived an ordinary life. She did not have a handful of degrees and professional achievements, but she did accomplish something all important: a life well lived. Kathleen was a person of keen intelligence and wide-ranging interests. A native Michigander, she was happiest in well-worn flannel, denim, and trekking boots, hiking on a backwoods trail or two-track. She was a lifelong student of nature, science, art, and design, and she personally...See more

Kathleen Hopkins was an extraordinary person who lived an ordinary life. She did not have a handful of degrees and professional achievements, but she did accomplish something all important: a life well lived. Kathleen was a person of keen intelligence and wide-ranging interests. A native Michigander, she was happiest in well-worn flannel, denim, and trekking boots, hiking on a backwoods trail or two-track. She was a lifelong student of nature, science, art, and design, and she personally designed and planted hundreds of native plant habitats. Kathleen earned a degree in computer science, which she used to do extensive and careful research. She was a gourmet cook of healthy dishes-with the occasional fat and juicy ballpark-style hot dog stuffed with smoked Gouda and Vidalia onion and wrapped in bacon. Self-taught, she was a pianist of everything from light-tripping sonatinas to growling blues and ragtime. Kathleen had a serious interest in matters of the intellect, especially physics. And more importantly, matters of the heart; she was the steadfast head of her family. Endlessly kind and generous, Kathleen gave substantial support to the Cherryland Humane Society in Traverse City, Michigan, and established two scholarships at Northwestern Michigan College: one in Fine Arts and the other in Creative Writing. Having managed her cancer with her husband, Howard, until the very last day, she and Howard were together when she passed away in the peaceful setting of Munson Hospice House. See less