Editor’s note: Aurora native Jim Hopp’s untimely death will reach three months Wednesday, Nov. 10. He left an indelible record in many ways. His wife, Nancy Hopp, submitted a timely narrative, a eulogy, in essence, for this week’s Reader’s Commentary. They were married 43 years. A celebration of life was held August 14 at New England Congregational Church in Aurora August 14. The family gathered to inter Jim’s ashes in the New England Congregational Church Memorial Garden Monday, Aug. 16. The lifelong resident of the Fox Valley area was born in Aurora March 10, 1947, went to Annunciation Grade School in Aurora and was graduated from Marmion Military Academy in Aurora in 1965 where he played football. He attended both Waubonsee Community College and Southern Illinois University. His work history with Hollywood Casino-Aurora started in 1992 when he was hired by Aurora Riverboats, Inc. to be the project manager for the construction of two riverboats, City of Lights I and City of Lights II, and for the Pavilion, all of which were completed and opened within 14 months. Before joining Hollywood Casino, Jim was general superintendent for 13 years for Peter Schwabe, Inc. of Big Bend, Wis., where he organized and managed field operations for key projects in the northern Illinois area, including Rock & Roll McDonald’s in downtown Chicago. Prior to that he was general superintendent for T&R Construction in Aurora.
By Nancy Hopp
Jim and I met at the former Irish Club in Aurora in 1970 when we were shooting pool, with each of us driving blue sports cars and wearing tie-died clothes from that era. We gave each other rides in our blue sports cars.
In the early years of our marriage, Jim and I were sometimes considered the carpenter and the lady. I grew up nurtured in the cultural arts by my parents, while Jim learned nearly every single skill required in the construction trades. Those talents would serve him for his entire life.
After the riverboats were launched in Aurora, I asked Jim where he would like to go on vacation. He responded, “Why don’t you find me a private island?” So I did, an eight-acre rentable paradise off of Marathon in the Florida Keys. We made several journeys there, with our son, Tom, and grandkids.
When we moved into my childhood home in Aurora after my mother died, Jim brought his magic touch to renovation projects that included five skylights, an enlarged lower level, a sunroom with a floor he crafted from a fallen honey locust tree my father had planted, a bathroom with a whirlpool and marble flooring, a garage addition to house his workshop, a yard full of native species, and many other clever and creative improvements. Outings and gatherings with both our families always seemed to energize him.
Once, when ice on the Fox River threatened to crush the hulls of the two riverboats and perhaps damage the barges the casino sat on, Jim came up with the ideal solution: He brought in a wrecking crane and proceeded to break up the ice so it could flow away over the dams. Jim never expected he’d be demolishing the same boats he built 20 years earlier.
Jim felt especially honored to be able to use his unique talents to serve others. He shared his imprint with the Boy Scouts, New England Church, the Kiwanis Club, the Chicago Porsche Club, the Dominican Literacy Center, the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, the 708 Board, Family Counseling Services, and many more organizations and individuals. There was no limit to his big heart and giving capacities, even when he didn’t feel his best. Last Summer I watched him give a favorite tool belt to a young roofer working on our garage.
The cancer at the base of his windpipe was discovered after a trip to Florida in 2014, after he had just retired. He remained cancer-free after radiation and chemo. During recovery, Jim rescued Enzo, a young gold, tabby cat he found in a tree. Enzo was named after founder Enzo Ferrari because of cat’s loud engine-like purr. When no owner could be found, Enzo became Jim’s therapy cat and the two of them were inseparable.
Other health issues surfaced, multiple serious ones that affected his heart and lungs. He had many hospitalizations over the past few years, but always rallied under the expert care he received and came home. But this past August, his two most vital organs failed at the same time. And so my son, Tom, and I said farewell as God took him by the hand to a better place.
Long before COVID restricted everyone’s lives, Jim and I had begun taking road trips to forest preserves and nature preserves. He liked to drive fast, and I liked to hike. We continued this practice during the past two years, sometimes as often as three times a week. Our treks into the quiet beauty of a forest, or the waving grasses of a prairie, always gave us both distraction and satisfaction as did our walks by the rivers and creeks. I visit those places now to enjoy his spirit, just as Enzo and I continue to feel his presence in our house.
Jim was our hero!