Funeral service for Lula "Mother" Hopkins will be at 11:00 a.m. Monday, April 11, 2022 at the Frontier Chapel, Fort Sill, Oklahoma with Chaplain (CPT) Phillip Morleck, Fort Sill, Oklahoma officiating

Burial will follow in Post Cemetery, Fort Sill, Oklahoma under the direction of Becker-Rabon Funeral Home.

The family will greet friends from 3-5 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.

The service may be viewed by following the livestream link at www.beckerfuneral.com or by visiting the Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Facebook page.

"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:6-8

On Monday, April 4, 2022 Lula Beatrice (Mother) Hopkins received her heavenly crown as she transitioned into the life immortal.  Mother Hopkins, as she was affectionately known by her church family and by many throughout the community, was born on July 24, 1930 to Edward and Leona (Cunningham) Anderson of Pineville, Louisiana.  She attended Peabody High School where not only did she graduate, but met her future husband Willie Hopkins, Jr.  Lula and Willie were married on May 7, 1949 and together they had seven children.  As a young military family, they found themselves transferred to a variety of military posts during their early years.  Each of their first five children was born at a different post while the last two were born at Fort Sill.  Raising her children was her primary vocation.  However, because of her huge heart and commitment to her community, Mother Hopkins always found time for other important endeavors; the primary of these was showing love and hospitality to people around her.  She expanded her family by emotionally adopting two additional daughters.  Vickie Harris and Gloria Connerly were as dear to Mother as her biological children.

Lula served as president of the PTA at Dunbar Elementary School in Lawton for many years and as a member of the Citywide PTA Council.  During two of the terms as president she shared the office with her husband Willie; sharing community involvements was not rare for the couple.  Together they taught Sunday school and led the Vacation Bible School for New Zion Baptist Church in Lawton and later at Geronimo Road Elementary School for the Fort Sill community.  Together they not only grew as a couple but ensured that their children had a firm spiritual foundation.

Lula worked for years at the McMahon Tomlinson Nursing Center, but her real love was her community involvements.  She served as a member and coordinator of the Fort Sill NCO Wives' Club and coordinated the efforts of the Sergeant Major Wives' organization which included outreach efforts to food banks and clothing programs.  She chaired many programs for the chapels which she attended.  She dearly loved her Frontier Chapel community and the many chaplains who served there.  Mother Hopkins was known for her generous and wide-sweeping hospitality as well as for having kind, and if necessary, corrective counsel for all whom she felt needed it regardless of whether speaking to her own child, a church family member, or someone she just met.  All these things she did with a flare and a larger-than-life presence.

Just as dear to Lula as her immediate family and church family was her extended family.  Lula's attachment to her brothers and sisters was precious to her.  The bi-annual visits from her baby brother Herman and his family were cherished encounters.  The time spent with her brother Frank and sisters Margie and Harriet brought great joy to her as well.  Highly favored for their companionship and spiritual kinship were The Reverend Joe and wife Josephine Green whom she referred to as her brother and sister rather than cousins.  Lula's big heart led her to respond to a flooding incident by working with military wives to collect a trailer load of clothing and other needed items and sending to Louisiana for relief.  Doctors, nurses, care center workers, and others who encountered Mother Hopkins were blessed by her big heart with cakes, fruit cake cookies, fudge, and pralines.

Mother Hopkins was preceded in death by her husband Willie Hopkins, Jr.; daughters, Beatrice and Gloria; son, Kenneth and granddaughter Shariana; along with her parents, two sisters and two brothers.

She is survived by her daughter Joanna Hopkins-Davis of Gainesville, Florida; sons, Ronnie Hopkins of Lawton; Dan (Sheila) Hopkins of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Ray (Lavinia) Hopkins of Richmond, Virginia; and Alan (Katrina) Hopkins of Pontiac, Michigan, grandchildren, Paul (Cortez), Davis, DeShawnna (Jeffrey) Bennett, Cherice Hopkins, Shavonna Cohen, Brandon (Elizabeth) Hopkins, KarDaryl Spears, Rosamond Hopkins, Randall Hopkins, Marissa Hopkins, Jordan Hopkins, Justin Hopkins, and Lauren Hopkins.

Lula will forever be immortalized as "Lula" to some, "Mother Hopkins" to others, and "Grandmother" to her grandchildren, but to us she will affectionately be remembered simply as "Mommy."