Joe Donald Hopkins, 86, passed away peacefully on March 1, at his home in Brady, Texas surrounded by his family and the sounds of the country music he loved. Joe Donald (the name he would be called by family and his school friends) was born on September 2, 1939, in Mineral Wells, Texas, to Joseph Carlton Hopkins and Viola Elizabeth Holland Hopkins. Joe was a precocious child and he was quite a handful to his mother who had suffered from polio as a child. At a young age he often accompanied his dad to work and learned some of the construction skills that he would use for the rest of his life. As soon as he had a driver’s license he started driving concrete mixers for Murphy & Murphy, Inc., which was a family owned ready mix concrete company.
Joe Donald graduated from East Texas State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Arts; he later did graduate work at Texas A&M. While Joe was attending ETSU, he was in Mineral Wells for the weekend when he met Patricia Austin on a blind date. Patricia was attending North Texas State University in Denton and for the rest of the semester he drove from Commerce to Denton and gave her a ride to Mineral Wells every weekend. Since emails, Facebook, and FaceTime were unheard of in 1960 3¢ stamps and the US Postal service helped fuel the courtship. Joe and Patricia married on June 30, 1961. The spring semester of 1962 found them both attending ETSU. In 1963 they welcomed their daughter Mary Elizabeth (Mary Beth) and in 1965 Joe David (David) joined the family. In the fall of 1965, the family moved to Odessa, Texas, from then to 1974 he taught industrial arts at Odessa High School. He shared his practical knowledge and hands-on expertise with a number of students, fostering skills in craftsmanship and industrial education.
While teaching, his summers were not idle. He could be found repairing some of the rental property that he had acquired during the years. After a record breaking hail storm, he roofed all summer. Joe spent a portion of a number of summers at Prude Ranch in Ft Davis taking care of a variety of repairs to get the cabins ready for the scores of campers (which included his own two children). In the summer of 1974, the family relocated to Midland, Texas, where Joe served as the Director of Maintenance and Grounds at the new campus of Midland College. In this role, he was responsible for care and upkeep of campus facilities which included controlling the temperature of the buildings as well as hiring and directing the custodial and grounds staff. Since this was a new campus with only one tree (a Chinaberry) the grass and many more trees were planted.
After his time with the college ended, he entered into a joint venture with South Texas Construction to install a box culvert on Midland Drive that remains in use today. During the construction period he often had to wait for concrete. He went to John Campbell who was the general manager (Joe’s mentor) and discussed the problem with him. Mr. Campbell suggested that Joe put in his own ready mix concrete plant. That conversation led to the establishment of Midland Concrete in May of 1981. What began as a solution to his own needs grew into a successful mom-and-pop ready-mix operation providing quality concrete to countless construction projects for both commercial, TXDOT, and residential in the area. His son and both grandsons worked alongside him over the years. The business stands as a testament to Joe’s entrepreneurial spirit, problem-solving ability, and hard work.
While in Midland he was a member of First Methodist Church and later Golf Course Road Church of Christ. He was also a member of the Optimist Club, the Midland Homebuilders Association, and the West Texas Cruisers(an antique car club).
Joe was skilled in woodworking and built a number of beautiful pieces of furniture. He was a very gifted amateur artist who sometimes painted with watercolors, acrylics, or oils. While working in the metal shop at OHS Joe mastered the art of bronze casting using the lost wax technique. He restored a number of antique cars which included a 1939 Chevrolet Business Coupe and a 1957 Chevrolet 4 door hard top from the frame up.
Joe loved riding motorcycles and rode countless miles over Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. During his rides through the hill country he discovered a Heart of Texas Country Music Concert at the Lantex Theatre in Llano, Texas. He and Patricia drove many miles attending the shows in Llano as well as the annual Country Music Festival in Brady. Joe’s travels also included cruising to many different destinations.
Joe was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s around 2008 and shortly after that he found out about Sudoku a numbered puzzle game and if he was sitting he was working on one of the games. He was able to solve even the most difficult ones and perhaps this helped to keep the disease at bay for a bit longer.
Joe was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Linda Glidewell, and his daughter Mary Beth Hopkins. He is survived by his loving wife, Patricia Hopkins; brother Marcus Hopkins (Darlene); son David Hopkins (Bonnie); grandson Joshua Hopkins; his grandson Ryan Hopkins; granddaughter Jaclyn Wilson (Sebastian); great granddaughter Jersey Hopkins; great grandson Lucas Wilson; son in law Warren Johnston; cousins, and friends too numerous to mention.
Joe was a member of Christian Community Church of Brady and our thanks go out to the congregation and Reverend Charles Stokes, his wife Aurelia for their faithful support and prayers. Our special gratitude to the staff at Hospice Of San Angelo: Darci, Keyla, Sue Ellen, Julie, Anna and Maggie. The special care you gave Joe always went above and beyond and we will miss all of you! Desiree from Hill Country Health Care could not have been more helpful. She treated Joe with all the respect, dignity, and love that she would have given to her own grandfather. Thank you is not enough! Special thanks to extended family members who helped take care of Joe and allowed me some respite time. They were: Amy, Charity, Kenzie, and Pacie. The HOT Country Music Association along with Charla and Tracy Pitcox had a special place in Joe’s heart! Thank you for helping him be able to join in the activities that were so dear to him!
A Celebration of Life is planned for September 12 in Brady, Texas and more details will be shared later. Friends may view and/or sign Joe Donald’s online memorial guest book at www.leatherwoodmemorialchapels.com. Memorials to honor Joe may be made to the HOT Country Music Museum 1702 Bridge Street, Brady, Texas 76825 ; to HOSA 1934 University Ave.,San Angelo, Texas 76904 or to the Christian Community Church, 203 E Pearl Street, Brady, Texas 76825.