Bookends

For more than 30 years, we have had a pre-Christmas get together and gift exchange with our dear friends,  the Hop[kins Family: Bob and Cindee both shared my passion for books and history...

So every year I could count on new books from them. 

This year was no exception. They were planning on taking a Cruise at Christmastime, so this year we held our annual get together in mid November. More great books followed, as ujsual.

We even got together with them again a week later, and had a great time

Then, the day after Thanksgiving, 1 month ago today, we got a call from Bob that Cindee had passed away unexpectedly in her sleep early that morning. She was only 71, in very good health and had been feeling perfectly fine, and, as was her normal, had  hiked several miles the day before. 10 days later, I was one of 4 speakers at her Memorial service, held at the Roxbury  Town Hall, which was literally standing room only. 

Cindee Hopkins


   Jan and I moved to New Milford 40 years ago, and lived in the Old Farms condominiums there. Not long after we moved in, another couple roughly the age of our parents welcomed us.. Anna Mae and Ernie Fournier. We shared drinks and happy hours and quickly became friends. They were both so friendly and supportive. While we were still living there, we hosted a 40th Wedding Anniversary party my parents, and Ernie built us a temporary canopy for our back patio just for the event. They soon introduced us to their daughter, Cindee, and her husband, Bob Hopkins, who were them living in Bantam, CT. .

    We bonded with Cindee and Bob very quickly; they were both teachers,, as were both my mother and Jan's mother. They both had a love of history, which I share, and we appreciated Cindee's boundless enthusiasm and Bob's wry sense of humor. When we moved to our new home in Bridgewater a few years later, Jan was pregnant with our second daughter, and could only help with organization and light things; Cindee and Bob came to the rescue, and helped us move on a cold January day... right after a moderate snowstorm

    A few years thereafter, Cindee and Bob moved closer to us, to Roxbury, and before long they had a daughter of their own. We soon began a 30+ year tradition of having a pre-Christmas gathering with our respective extended families, alternating homes. During the pandemic years, we held it outside on our patios. The weather was cold each of those years, but the warmth came from inside us. We are truly a big part of each other's families!

    Our two daughters both graduated from Shepaug Middle and High Schools, and had the privilege of having Cindee as one of their teachers... as I am sure was the case for many of you here today. Cindee was one of those special teachers that most students remember all their lives – her energy, passion for her subject, and genuine concern for the good of her students and the Shepaug school community were infectious!

    When we were breeding Annie, one of our Golden retrievers, Annie needed to go the veterinarian's office while were away, and it was Cindee who took her. She was the first visitor to see the new puppies a few months later. We have two wonderful dogs that would not be here today without her. Cindee was like that... always there to help out when there was a need.

    After her well deserved retirement, Cindee did tutoring, volunteered and was a driving force of nature with the Roxbury Library, worked at the polls for elections, and probably hiked every foot of the trails in Washington, Bridgewater, and especially Roxbury, the town that she so dearly loved. She was able to indulge her passion for history and geography by traveling across Europe and the near East. She shared her love of both of these liberally in her many Facebook posts, making us feel were there with her.

    One of my patients had a favorite saying about life, which has always resonated with me... “We're only here for a visit!” While we all hoped and expected Cindee's visit with us to be considerably longer, none of us can doubt that she made the most of the time that God gave her. Cindee brightened the lives of so many, and those of my family especially. Her loss will be deeply felt, but the positive impact of her “visit” here will endure long after our sadness eases.

Thank you from us all, Cindee!

Cindee and her daughter, my god-daughter, Alexa, last month.