Harry Hopkins II, known to his family and friends as “Hap” and named for his paternal grandfather, passed away unexpectedly on October 10, 2024, in Orlando, Florida at the age of 67. He was born on March 14, 1957, in Orlando, to Frances and Henry Hopkins.
Hap grew up in Orlando, where he graduated from Maynard Evans High School in 1975. He went on to earn a degree in Forensic Science from the University of Central Florida (UCF). In June of 1982 he took a position with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) in Sanford and later moved to Orlando. This was after an internship in Alabama, a position with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), and a position in the crime lab at FDLE in Pensacola.
Hap was a lifelong member of First United Methodist Church Orlando and went on mission trips and volunteered with many church ministries. He was an usher and an active volunteer with Family Promise, the Sunday Evening Men’s Group, Emergency Response Team (ERT) and New Covenant Sunday school. Hap was a loving and devoted husband, father, and granddaddy. He was a man of great faith, had a profound sense of humor and loved to help others. He was always willing to give an extra hand to those in need. As a young boy he was active in the Boy Scouts of America and later became an assistant scout leader with his boys who both earned their Eagle Scout award. Hap volunteered with IDignity because of his passion to help the homeless. His deepest passion was to work on the fifteen acres of his childhood home.
Hap is survived by his wife of 30 years Amy, sons Joshua and his wife Brittnee, Adam and his wife Courtney, stepson Brian Elder, his sister Cecily and her husband Mike, grandchildren Evelynne (8), Makenzie (7), Wyatt (6), Carter (6), Amelia (2), Reed (1), and Camden (2 months), former spouse and mother of his children Jill Severtson Hopkins, nephew Gabe (Jennifer), niece Ashley (Matthew), and numerous cousins, grandnieces and grandnephews.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at First United Methodist Church of Orlando in downtown Orlando.