Jesse "Vic" Hopper

Visitation for Jesse Victor "Vic" Hopper, 95, of Kankakee, will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at the Clancy-Gernon-Hertz Funeral Home, west Kankakee, where funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Rev. Kathy Sweet and John A. Snider will officiate. Following the services, cremation rites will be accorded. Inurnment will be held at a later date in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Dr. Victor Hopper Scholarship at Kankakee Community College. He died Wednesday (Feb. 15, 2012) at Riverside Medical Center, Kankakee. He was born Nov. 10, 1916, in Abington, the son of Amos and Ida Calvin Hopper. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving as a naval officer during World War II. He received a Bachelor of Education degree from Western Illinois University, a Master of Arts degree from Stanford University and a doctorate in education degree from Harvard University. Vic had a long and illustrious career which included such roles as teacher, principal, chairman, Department of Education at Colorado College; president, Southern Colorado State College; dean and interim president, John Wood Community College; and superintendent, Brown County schools. His professional affiliations were numerous and varied. He was a charter life member of the American Association for Higher Education and had a lifetime teaching certificate. At one time he was adviser to more than 100 master's candidates. He received many honors and awards throughout his distinguished career and served on many national and state boards. For more than 70 years, students from all walks of life have benefited from his work. Recognized and respected by students, community leaders and constituents of the institutions he served, his life exemplified leadership, humanism and kindness. Of great joy to Vic were his many friends and their children. Vic was a talented craftsman who crafted beautiful things from wood. He was an avid churchman and served the United Methodist Church in many roles. Vic was intelligent, witty and a gentle spirit. He loved his family without reservation. He loved his God and his country. His life is a celebration of all that is good and honorable. Surviving are his wife, the former Ruth Snider, of Kankakee, whom he married Dec. 17, 1994; one son, Carl Hopper, of Quincy; one daughter, Becky (Dr. Richard Kraut) Clarke Kraut, of Scarsdale, N.Y.; two grandchildren, Michael Robert Clarke, of Lawrence, Kan., and Nicholas Hopper, of Quincy; four great-grandchildren, Daniel, Natalie, Shannon and Peyton Clarke, all of Lawrence; and numerous nieces and nephews, including Calvin (Fran) Hopper, and Ida-Ann (Robert) Clarke. He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Grace; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Ivan and Esther, and Everett and Margaret; and one nephew, Es Hopper. in lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Dr. Victor Hopper Scholarship at Kankakee Community College -

Jesse "Vic" Hopper

November 10, 1916 - February 15, 2012