Ms. Jo Beth Hopper's Obituary
Jo Beth Hopper, a Port Arthur, TX native and Mobile, AL resident, passed away June 7, 2016 at 79 years of age. She was preceded in death by her mother, Forest Cleone Williams, her father, Herbert Adair Williams, Sr., her brother Herbert Adair Williams, Jr., her daughter Patricia Lynn Moss, her best friend and cousin JoEllen Trahan Pickering, and her husband Billy Gene Hopper. She is survived by her daughters, Bonnie Wright of Theodore, Pam Terrell of Silsbee, Texas and Lee Ann Weston of Fairhope, Alabama, son Mark Wright of Theodore, sisters Selma Wilson and Pam Kirkpatrick of Bay Minette., 10 grandchildren, many great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren. Services will be at Serenity Funeral Home on Friday, June 10, 2016 with visitation beginning at 11am until the funeral service at 12 noon in the funeral home chapel. Interment will follow in Serenity Memorial Gardens.TODAY IS THE DAY THE LORD HATH MADE…REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT. Psalms 91: 1-4 says “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” Going to the same chapter in Psalms verses 14-16 there comes another unbroken promise “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him” I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble”: I will deliver him and I will honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.” She was known by many names… JoBeth, Jody, Ms. Hopper, Sugarfoot, Kid, Dodie and most importantly child of God. My sister JoBeth Williams Hopper was born in Port Arthur, Texas on February 7th,1937 to Herbert Adair Williams Sr. and Forest Cleone Selman Williams. She had the blondest of hair, the bluest of eyes and feet so tiny and sweet that daddy nicknamed her “sugarfoot”. The humblest of beginnings in a one room garage apartment soon changed for the better when the family bought two acres in Chance, (which is now called Lumberton) Texas and daddy built a two bedroom home. The home itself was built with lumber cut and milled right from the land. It was set solidly on 6x6 sills, heart of pine floors and walls and set on concrete blocks. This foundation was the earthly foundation but more importantly was the other foundation…. The Solid Rock foundation of Jesus Christ. Jo grew up knowing Jesus and our whole family was immersed in the word of God, daily prayers and faithful attendance in Fletcher Emanuel Baptist Church. At the age of 9, Jesus came knocking at her hearts door and she opened it wide for Him to come in. Her singing voice came naturally from our dad who was the music director at the church and our mom who had the voice of and angel. Jo Beth and her best friend and favorite cousin JoEllen sang many duets and solos while standing in front of the church beginning at the age of 8. One of her favorite songs was a song our dad sang often…Wayfaring Stranger. Another of her favorite songs was There’s a land that is fairer than day or better known to some as Sweet bye and bye. Our grandmother would sit on her front porch in the big rocking chair, hold us tight and sing us asleep with that song. We knew it was true because Mama Jo said it and God promised it. “In the sweet bye and bye we will meet on that beautiful shore.” Jo was an excellent student in school and excelled in all of her studies. In high school she played chimes which is pretty darned hard to do while marching up and down the football field or streets. She was Junior Sweetheart Queen and had perfect attendance and graduated with honors from Silsbee High School in 1954. Then came marriage and within 10 years she was blessed with 5 beautiful children plus one little sister. She lovingly made clothes for each of their children, each thread being sewn with love. JoBeth taught her children love, respect, honesty and gave them each their independence after reinforcing God's love and His promises. After moving to Mobile she became a teachers aid in the Theodore schools working with special education children. She believed that each child had a special place in this world and blessed herself by blessing them with her love of God and her faith. After the death of her beloved husband Billy Hopper, she became involved with an established grief counseling group and was asked to lead the group in helping other grieving persons. She was an artist not only with paints, song, sewing but also with words. She always had the right words at the right time. She was unafraid to share those words nor was she hesitant to share God's word and lead people to Christ. Moving forward into today…. As I mentioned before… Her lift was built on a very strong foundation. That foundation is the rock of Jesus Christ. His promises of life eternal keep death in prospective. JoBeth was born in 1937… ReBorn in 1946… and God gave her life eternal at 6:12 pm on June 7th, 2016. Going back to the verses I read earlier…. GOD IS OUR REFUGE… HE DELIVERS US FROM THE SNARES AND TRAPS OF EARTHLY LIFE AND SHELTERS US UNDER HIS WING. We will miss you Jody… We will hold your memory and Testimony in our hearts forever… WE WILL SEE YOU WHEN WE GET THERE.
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