Biography

01/09/1923 - 06/12/1996

John DeWolf Hopper (R31) Cumberland (Part), York (Part) Counties 1977-1992

Early Life:

John DeWolf Hopper, born January 9, 1923, Charleston, Kanawha, West Virginia; son of Ellis S. and Adra D. Hopper; Camp Hill High School, 1941; married, Ann Bowman 1941, children, John Steven, Robert Andrew, W. Richard, Kathy A.; Dickinson College, Carlisle, 1941, left school, second semester, volunteered, United States Army Air Corps, P-51 fighter pilot, world War II, 1941-1945; returned, Dickinson College, 1945-1948; Dickinson Law School, LL.D, 1951; Equitable of Iowa, 1952; American College of Life, Chartered Life Underwriter degree; established, John D. Hopper and Associates, 1958-1976; Camp Hill School Board; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1977-1992; died, June 12, 1996 (aged 73), Holy Spirit Hospital, Camp Hill, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania; interment, Rolling Green Memorial Park, Camp Hill, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Member, boards, West Shore Branch of Dauphin Deposit (now M&T Bank), Holy Spirit Hospital, trustee, Dickinson College, 1970-1993; president, Pennsylvania Association of Life Underwriters, operations director, Pennsylvania National Guard. 

Early Career:

Volunteered, Army Air Corps at the encouragement of his Dickinson College roommate, Vincent Schafmeister. Fighter pilot in the European theater of World War II, 1941-1945. Returned, Dickinson College, Beta Theta Phi fraternity, Omicron Delta Kappa honors society, and Raven's Claw, 1945-1948. Equitable of Iowa, a life insurance company, 1952. Established, John D. Hopper and Associates, 1958-1976.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 31st District, Cumberland (Part), York (Part) Counties, 1977-1992; committee assignments, Aging and Youth (Chairman), Community and Economic Development, Judiciary, Labor and Industry, Military and Veterans Affairs, Public Health and Welfare. Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency Board, State Transportation Advisory Committee. 

Legacy:

Outstanding Dickinson College varsity basketball player, two handed set shot, inducted, Dickinson Sports Hall of Fame, 1972. Turned down an offer to play professional basketball, Saint Louis Bombers, deciding, instead to go to Dickinson Law School.

Cited:

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members H". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Notable Alumni of Dickinson College: John D. Hopper (1923-1996) | Dickinson College

The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pennsylvania) Friday, June 14, 1996. Page 12.

John D Hopper (1923-1996) - Find a Grave Memorial