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Alyce Marie Hardee Hopkin peacefully entered heaven on March 13, 2024. She passed with family by her side and under the watchful care of dedicated angels at the Powell Valley Care Center. Alyce was 94 years old. A viewing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 10 a.m. with the funeral following at 11 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Seventh Street Chapel, 527 W. 7th Street, Powell, Wyoming.
Alyce Marie Hardee entered life on Nov. 13, 1929. She was born in Red Lodge, Montana to Miles Leonard Hardee and Della Margaret Webber. A couple of years later a little brother, Donald, joined the family. Her parents separated. Grandpa and Grandma Hardee raised Alyce and Donald. Their father visited them often and she played with many cousins.
Alyce attended elementary school at the Marquette 2 School near Carter Mountain, middle school in Sheridan, high school in Thermopolis and Cody. She graduated with the Cody High School Class of 1947.
Alyce met Harold “Whitey” Hopkin before he left to serve in the Navy during World War II. Whitey’s oldest sister Mary introduced them. She suggested that Alyce write to Whitey and that was the beginning of their love life. They dated after Whitey returned from Guam and they married in Billings, Montana on Aug. 13, 1947. They were later sealed for time and all eternity in the Idaho Falls Temple on July 19, 1962.
Alyce and Whitey welcomed five children, Thayne, Kurt, Byrne, Jocelyn and Vince. They lived most of their married life in Penrose where they farmed and ranched. Alyce worked on the farm, kept the family finances, raised a garden and helped on cattle drives. She joined the WIFE Organization where she traveled to Washington D.C. to raise awareness of the concerns of farming economics. She worked at the Irma Grill, the Shoshone Bank, the Cowley Cannery, the Powell Auction Market, the Polar Plant, Glenn Lewis Accounting, Erick Jones Accounting and the Willwood Irrigation District.
Alyce and Whitey did have fun along the way. They enjoyed card games with lifelong friends, square dancing and barbecues. Alyce and Whitey traveled to many places in the country. She especially loved going with Whitey on his Tri-State assignments. Her many girlfriends who she dearly loved, sprinkled hours of laughter throughout her life. Alyce treasured her mother-in-law’s acceptance, love and teachings. Whitey’s brothers and sisters and their spouses became her family, and she cherished all her nieces and nephews. Family time was the most important time for her. She lit up whenever family and friends showed up for a visit.
Living on the farm kept everyone busy. She knew the importance of home storage. Canning garden produce was a necessity. She found time to preserve peaches and pears. She crocheted intricate table runners and doilies. She spent many hours researching her genealogy. A favorite pastime of hers was putting puzzles together.
Church service was central to her life. She taught Primary before she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served in ward and stake Relief Society Presidencies. Ministering to others was an opportunity she valued. She ventured on youth trips to Salt Lake and Idaho Falls. Her service as a Billings Montana Temple Ordinance Worker became one of her favorite callings which she faithfully fulfilled for 17 years. Her life reflects her deep love and testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ.
If there is one word to describe Alyce, it would be “survivor.” She survived a rough beginning to life, the ups and downs of farm life, a major hailstorm that destroyed their crops in July 1962, but she always resolved to rise above whatever difficulty life handed her. Breast cancer, major surgeries, arthritis, macular degeneration, and being a widow for 22 years she gracefully endured. Determined to make a life filled with love and security for her family was always a goal to which she aspired and accomplished. Alyce now enjoys seeing perfectly, having a body that is free to move without pain, a mind that thinks clearly, and is dancing with her beloved cowboy, Whitey.
Alyce is survived by her children, Kurt (Georgina) Hopkin, Wapiti, Wyoming; Byrne (Cindy) Hopkin, Pocatello, Idaho; Jocelyn (Kim) Frame, Powell, Wyoming; H. Vince (Linda) Hopkin, Cody, Wyoming; and daughter-in-law Brenda (Thayne, deceased) Hopkin, Magna, Utah. She is blessed with 19 grandchildren, 58 greatgrandchildren, nine great-great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband Harold Wilson Hopkin, her son Thayne Hardee Hopkin, her parents, her brother Donald Hardee, and daughter-in-law Karen McDonnell Hopkin.
Her family is most grateful for the care and love their mother and grandmother received for the past three years at the Powell Valley Care Center and Dr. Sarah Durney’s compassionate care for many years.
Interment will be at the Penrose Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers Alyce’s family requests donations be made to the Powell Senior Citizen Building Fund, P.O. Box 1156, Powell, Wyoming 82435
Thompson Funeral and Cremation Services is in charge of the funeral arrangements.
