Marian Brown Hopkins
Marian Brown Hopkins Obituary
Marian Elizabeth Brown Hopkins died peacefully on Easter morning, March 31, 2024 with her children by her side. Marian was born on August 10, 1929 in West Chester, Pennsylvania to Harry Edwin Brown and Cassandra Mary Smith Brown. She was the eldest of four sisters.
After graduation from Unionville High School, Marian attended the University of Missouri where she studied English literature and advertising. She worked summers for the advertising department of DuPont where she met her husband, Oren Edward Hopkins, Jr. They were married on May 2, 1953 at Kennett Square Presbyterian Church and raised three children. Oren’s engineering career took them from Wilmington to Red Bank, NJ, Houston, TX, Bay Village, OH, Doylestown, PA, Salt Lake City, UT and Phoenix, AZ. They retired to Easton, MD in 2004 and Marian returned to her Chester County roots in 2013 residing at Kendal at Longwood.
While raising their three children and supporting her husband’s career, Marian was involved in numerous community service and volunteer activities. She was particularly active as an American Field Service (AFS) volunteer for many years before being recruited, while living in Salt Lake City, to manage marketing for the western states. This work took her to both public and private high schools promoting AFS and educating teachers, families and students. Lifetime friendships were formed through AFS and her family benefitted greatly from interacting with people of different cultures and backgrounds from an early age. Marian and Oren’s AFS daughter, Barbi Lund (Neil, Sam, and Rebecca), and Nii Ansah Mensah (Marlene, Nate, and Teki), have long been a part of the extended Hopkins family.
In addition to AFS and volunteer activities, Marian was quite an entrepreneur, creating several small businesses over the years. She started the Hobby Horse while in Bay Village, making and selling decorative arts during the Christmas season. This expanded to a catalogue business (Hobby Horse East) when the family moved to Doylestown. She then renovated an 1811 house in New Britain, PA with four partners and launched Blueberry Manor with a continued focus on the decorative arts and an expanded product line including fine fabrics, imported antiques, and the work of regional artists.
In 1988, while living in Salt Lake City, Marian led a delegation of eighteen women, the Learned Pilgrim Women of Achievement, on a three-week tour of China. This was the beginning of a new and highly successful enterprise, The Learned Pilgrim, which specialized in small group travel to many seldom visited (at the time) locations. Her travels took her to China and Egypt numerous times, as well as Greece, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Costa Rica, South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, the northern coast of Norway, Galapagos, Nepal, Poland, Hungary, and St. Petersburg Russia. She continued this business for 15 years, retiring in 2003, before moving back to the East Coast.
In addition to her businesses and AFS, Marian was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church, Town Club and National Council of International Visitors (all in Salt Lake City), and PEO (in Doylestown, SLC, Easton and Wilmington).
One of Marian’s greatest talents was her knack for bringing people together. She was an excellent host, event planner and loved entertaining, whether for business or a special occasion. She became a surrogate mother to many of her children’s friends - there was always an extra seat at the Hopkins table and everyone was made to feel welcome. Her annual Christmas Eve open house, with her famous Teddy Bear tree, is legendary. She loved to garden and was an excellent interior decorator. It didn’t matter where she lived, there was always another remodel or garden to design.
Marian was a strong, independent woman who lived life to the fullest and enriched the lives of those around her. She was a dearly loved wife, mother, grandmother and friend who was always attentive to the little things that made each of us feel special.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Oren E. Hopkins Jr.; her youngest son, Christian S. Hopkins, and her three sisters, (Madolyn Franks, Cassandra Castillo, and Sally Bartlett) She is survived by her daughter, Jane C. Hopkins (Stephen C. Geiger) of Arlington, Virginia, her son, Oren E. (Tripp) Hopkins, III (Laura C. Dupuy) of Salt Lake City, Utah; two grandchildren, Michael C. Hopkins (Alyssa) and Sarah J. Hopkins (James), and four great grandchildren.
A private graveside service will be held at a future date and interment will be at Longwood Cemetery, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
Arrangements are being handled by Longwood Funeral Home & Cremation of Matthew Genereux.
