Obituary of Harold William Hopkins, Sr.

Veteran Harold W. Hopkins, Sr., 92, passed away at home, with his son by his side, on Tuesday, December 8, 2020.Harold was born May 22, 1928 in Oklahoma City, and grew up in Bethany, Oklahoma.He worked for Gaylord Publications delivering Oklahoma City Times and Daily Oklahoman on an eight mile route on horseback. He graduated from Putnam City High School in Oklahoma City. Harold worked some in the Bethany area doing garden plowing with his dad's Farmall A tractor, then went to the wheat harvest around Adrian, Texas for John Lewis. He worked other jobs in California with John, and Harry & David Fruit Co. in Medford, Oregon.Harold was drafted to the U.S. Army from 1950-1952, Service Co. 8th Inf Reg 4th Div, and had his basic training at Ft. Benning, Georgia. He loaded up on train to New York City, and was the first full Division to march in New York since WWII. He was then shipped to Germany, where he was a supply truck driver. Harold was chosen to be General Eisenhower's driver on one the Gen. visits to Germany. Harold spent days cleaning and shinning up his jeep, but the weather turned bad and the Gen. chose a staff car which left Harold out of being the driver.Harold married Ruth Grissom in 1955. He worked at Bell Telephone in Oklahoma. He was then hired by Truman Jones at Central Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma and worked in Sherman, Texas, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. Harold was with the Original Frontier Airlines after the merger, in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Pueblo, Colorado; Denver, Colorado; and Santa Fe, New Mexico for thirty-two years until Frontier went into bankruptcy in 1986. He started at the bottom and worked his way up to Station Manager and retired as Senior Agent.Harold and family moved to Colorado Springs in the summer of 1963 with Central Airlines, and lived there for fifty-three years. Harold enjoyed fishing, camping, antique engines, tractors, antiques, attending numerous tractor shows and parades and giving kids a ride in his homemade barrel train. He was a member of Front Range Antique Power Association, and Arkansas Valley Flywheelers and enjoyed spending time with the members. Harold was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth, after sixty-one years of marriage; parents, O.M. and Lillian Hopkins; sister, Evelyn; brothers, Leslie and Don; and one great-grandchild, Kayla.He is survived by his three daughters, Judy and Rae Lynn, both of Colorado Springs, and Linda of Evans, Georgia; his son, Harold, Jr. of Colorado Springs; four grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and nine great-great-grandchildren.