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Page 6— Wednesday, November 16, 2022 The True Citizen
OBITUARIES
Claude William “Bill” Hopper III
Athens, Ga. - Bill Hopper passed away on Friday, No
vember 11, 2022. He was a proud native of Waynesboro,
Georgia—the birddog capital of
the world. He was bom on August
11,1960 and was the eldest child
of C.W. “Billy” Hopper, Jr. and
Marianne Bevan Hopper.
Bill graduated from Edmund
Burke Academy in 1978 and the
University of Georgia in 1982.
During his first quarter at UGA,
he met the true love of his life,
Donna Harvey, and they were
married on May 26, 1984 in
Athens, Georgia, which remained
their home for the entirety of their
marriage. In 1983 he began his career at the First National
Bank of Athens, which later became SunTrust. He continued
to serve the Athens community through his work at SunTrust
for 19 years until joining the National Bank of Georgia in
2002. He served as the president and CEO of NBG for 9 years
until the time of NBG’s merger with State Bank and Trust
(now Cadence) in 2016. Community was a primary tenant of
Bill’s values, and with the help and vision of many friends,
his passion for building a community bank for Athens led to
the creation of Classic City Bank in 2020.
All who knew Bill knew him to be a humble, consistent,
loyal and generous servant of God. Of these, his greatest
qualities reflected the teachings of his father, who passed
away 9 months before him. While he was known as a guiding
light to most, he sought his own wisdom in the scripture and
in the legacy of his father. His work ethic and diligence were
unmatched. His competitive nature was well known to anyone
who spent time with him on a golf course or witnessed his
occasional ferocity as his son’s little league baseball coach.
His intentionality was evident in his every word and action,
and his strength and dignity permeated every room he entered.
Until moving to Athens for college, Bill spent his childhood
in his own version of Mayberry, where he truly felt his father
was the Andy Taylor to his Opie. It was there that his love for
the outdoors was cultivated. He communed with God most
from the seat of his deer stand while watching the sunrise
surrounded by God’s living garment. And when the Georgia
heat relented in the fall, he spent his Sunday afternoons lay
ing corn for the deer or bobbing in a Jon boat at his favorite
fishing hole. To no one’s surprise, on those afternoons, Donna
could be found riding in his truck’s passenger seat or reading
a magazine on the bench seat of his boat. Since the bank was
closed for Veterans Day on the day of his passing, Bill and
Donna spent the morning doing just that.
He had a fondness of athletics—another attribute he inher
ited from his father. Bill believed the character of a person
was best molded on a ball held. It is there he felt children
could learn to have humility in success and grace in failings.
In conversation, it never took long for much of Bill’s banter
to meander back to the topics of Georgia football or the often-
embellished musings of his time playing high school football,
basketball, and golf. On one of the very best days of his life,
he played 18 holes tucked away in the pines and azaleas of
Augusta National, only 35 miles from his hometown. At the
end of the day, he texted Donna, “Heaven must be like this,”
followed by, “Played horrible. Who cares?” A football season
later, Bill watched his beloved Bulldawgs clench their second
national championship of his lifetime, and Donna drove him
down Broad Street as the crowds gathered and the chapel
bell tolled.
If you made it out of a conversation with Bill without
discussing athletics, then you must have landed on his more
favored topic: his family. He would boast that his only accom
plishment in life was raising his children with his best friend.
As he guided his children in their own walks of life, he often
reminded them, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well,”
but most remarkably, he demonstrated this lesson through his
actions. He was the most devoted father and husband. He was
the lighthouse at the end of University Drive where Bill and
Donna raised their family for 27 years. Though his work hours
were long and his weekends often involved trips to the office,
it can honestly be said that he never missed one of Bevan or
McGee’s multitude of sporting events with the exception of
one basketball game in the days following the passing of
Donna’s mother, when he stayed home to be with his wife.
His love of music was vast and largely influenced by the
songs he first learned picking peaches and apples during his
college summers back home in Burke County. In his later
years, you may have heard the whispers of Bill’s favorite
tunes spilling through the screen of their back deck and down
Old Ag Hill, while the smell of a good steak wafted from his
grill and Donna sat beside him in their rocking chairs. With
a good glass of cabernet in hand, he spent some of his most
cherished evenings there alongside his best friend.
Bill, like his father, was a man of great faith. On Sundays,
the Hoppers could be found at the First Baptist Church of
Athens —the church where he was married, his children were
baptized, and he walked his daughter down the aisle on her
wedding day. On the Sunday before his passing, after Georgia
beat Tennessee, he attended church in his gameday polo, taught
the Young Couples’ Sunday school class alongside Donna,
and honored his father during the All Saints’ Day service. It
was a good day.
Though we know not what awaits us in the Kingdom of
Heaven, it is certain that Bill Hopper now rests in a rocking
chair beside the throne of his Heavenly Father, reunited with
his worldly father, and waiting patiently to greet the love of
his life when it is her time to join him.
Bill is preceded in death by his father: Claude William
“Billy” Hopper, Jr. He is survived by his wife of 38 years,
Donna Harvey Hopper, and his mother, Marianne Bevan Hop
per. He is also survived by his two children: William Bevan
Hopper and Mary McGee Hopper Berding (Sam). In addition
to his children, he is survived by his two siblings: Nell Hopper
Dixon (Herbie) and John Frederick "Rick" Hopper (Lisa) as
well as his uncle, Frank Bevan (Ann) and numerous cousins,
nieces and nephews. He is further survived by countless life
long friends in the Athens community and beyond.
A memorial service will be held at the First Baptist Church
of Athens on Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 2:00pm.
Senior Minister Matt Marston and Director of Music Tom
Granum will officiate the service. The family will receive
friends and family in the Fellowship Hall immediately fol
lowing the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made
to the First Baptist Church of Athens, 355 Pulaski Street,
Athens, GA 30601.
Bernstein Funeral Home is overseeing the arrangements.
Barbara Hickman Wilson
Barbara Hickman Wilson, age 80, passed away at her home
in Augusta, Ga. on November 8,2022. Barbara was born in
Millen, Ga. to the late Sidney and
Alva Hickman.
She graduated from Waynes
boro High School in 1960 and
attended the Women’s College
of Georgia where she earned her
Bachelor of Science in Education
in 1964. Barbara continued her
education at Pepperdine Uni
versity and earned her Master of
Arts Degree in Human Manage
ment and an Education Specialist
degree from Georgia Southern
University in 1994.
She lived in many places,
around the country and abroad, before returning to the Au
gusta area and retiring as a school counselor for the Richmond
County School System.
Barbara loved animals, but horses had been her passion
since her childhood days on the family farm in Waynesboro.
She was still riding and showing her Peruvian Paso until
recently.
She is survived by her sister Martha Hickman Ostendorff,
niece Scot Hixon, and nephew Alan Ostendorff.
Funeral services will be held on November 19,2022 at 3:00
p.m. at Burke Memorial Funeral
Home. Visitation will be held one
hour prior to the funeral at 2:00
p.m. Burial will follow at Burke
Memorial Gardens.
Burke Memorial Funeral Home
jount
CHANCE & HYDRICK
3imewl
Reuben Chance ■ Phil Hydrick
Locally Owned & Operated
706.790.8567
www.chanceandhydrick.com
^
/ DeLoach— i
McKerley-Prescott
FUNERAL HONE
N AND CREMATION SERVICE ,
220 East 6th Street • P.0. Box 595
Waynesboro, GA 30830
706-554-3531
www.deloachfuneralhomes.com
Val Prescott, Steve Sirmons, Jason McKerley
Kevin A. Scarff
Kevin A. Scarff, 45, of Chesapeake, VA entered into eternal
rest on Wednesday, November 9th after an extended battle with
cancer. Mr. Scarff is survived by
his wife of 26 years, Laura, and
his two sons, Andrew and Wil
liam, all of Chesapeake, Va.
Kevin was born in Fort Gor
don, Ga. to Sheila Engel (John)
of Blythe, Ga. and Dane Scarff
(Darlene) of Augusta, Ga. Kevin
is survived by both parents, his
brother Dustin Engel (Sarah), his
sister Dawn Stephens (Brian), his
brother Johnny Engel (Shevon),
and his paternal grandmother
Lois Scarff. He was preceded in
death by his maternal grandpar
ents Marion and Marjorie Teague, his paternal grandfather
John Scarff, and his brother Robert Scarff.
Upon graduation from Burke County High School in 1995,
Kevin joined the US Navy as a submariner. Over the course
of his 27 years of service, Kevin proudly served in Kings Bay,
GA; Groton, CT; Bangor, WA; Pearl Harbor, HI; and Naples,
Italy. He served as a Quartermaster, Assistant Navigator, Chief
of the Boat, Command Master Chief, and the Submarine Pa
cific Fleet Force Master Chief. Once diagnosed, his family
was moved to Chesapeake, VA, where he received the highest
quality of care from the hospital staff and his oncology team
at Portsmouth Regional Medical Center. He will be missed
by his family and his Navy community.
The family will receive friends from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday, November 18 at the funeral home. Funeral Services
will be held 1:00 p.m. Saturday, November 19 at Botsford
Baptist Church. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
DeLoach-McKerley-Prescott Funeral Home & Cremation
Service, 220 East 6th Street,
Waynesboro, GA 30830(706-
554-3531)
You may sign the guest book
at www.deloachfuneralhomes.
com.
* . •
DeLoach
McKerley-Prescott
FUNERAL HOME
AND CREMATION SERVICE
Carrie C. Rhodes
Mrs. Carrie C. Rhodes age 86 of Waynesboro, GA entered
into eternal rest on Thursday November 10,2022.
Celebration of Life for Mrs. Rhodes will be held on Sat
urday November 19,2022 1:00 p.m. at Metropolitan Baptist
Church 718 Perry St. Waynesboro, GA. Interment will be
in Pines Cemetery. Visitation is Friday November 18, 2022
from 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
“A Family Tradition Since 1919”
PHINAZEE & SON
FUNERAL HOME
Phinazee and Son Funeral Home
Funeral Director\Embalmer
Kelsey M. Phinazee
Manager- Crystal M. Preston
Funeral Director\Embalmer
Almari K. Phinazee
404 W 8th St,
Waynesboro, GA 30830
www.Phinazeesonfh.com
Burke Memorial Funeral Home
www.burkememorial.com
“A Home of Dependable Service”
842 Liberty Street, Waynesboro, GA
Family owned & operated
Jane and George DeLoach
706-833-9867 or 706-551-5100
Chavous B. Johnson Funer
al Service 885 Waters Street
Waynesboro GA. 30830
(706)554-7843.
Chavous B.y ohason & Reid
Funeral (s Home
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Chavous B. Johnson
Owner
Chavous B.^ohnson
FuneralCv' Home
Notary Service
Available
885 Waters Street, Waynesboro, GA - 706-554-7843 ■ Fax: 706-551-5008