Nadine Marie Allen Hopkins, born November 6, 1946, in Norton, Virginia, passed away March 9, 2023, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with her loving family by her side.
She attended Dorchester School through the seventh grade, and then J.J. Kelly High School where she was a member of the National Honor Society, graduating in 1965. While in her first year at J.J. Kelly, she met the man who would become her husband of nearly 57 years, Paul Allan Hopkins, whom she married in 1966. Following graduation, she worked as a lending officer at Wise County National Bank until 1972, and as a bookkeeper for Lyons Coal Company. She continued her education after high school, earning certificates in Basic Electronics, Electronics, and Intro to Micro Computers. She also completed college courses at UVA-Wise in real estate, business, and photography. While still residing in Virginia, she was a Master Wilton cake designer, an apple retailer and wholesaler, airplane pilot and licensed amateur radio operator. In her “spare time,” she was a beloved mother to her two children, Lori and David.
She and her family moved to Shelbyville, Tennessee, in 1988, where she was a member of the Shelbyville Woman’s Club, was the Past-Worthy Matron of the Shelbyville Order of the Eastern Star #248, participated in fundraising for the United Way and volunteered on many other committees. She was a member of the Celebration City Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America. She was the President of Hopkins-Hall Broadcasting, which operated radio stations WLIJ and WZNG, during which time she founded the annual Professional Woman’s Luncheon in Shelbyville to recognize and honor the extraordinary women of Shelbyville and Bedford County, and organized many civic-related programs that were broadcast on her radio stations. She and her family later founded Hopkins Farms Broadcasting, Inc, which currently operates WLIJ and WZNG, about which she continued to give guidance and advice until her passing.
She was preceded in death by parents, John Allen and Viola Virginia Ramey Allen, brothers Stuart Timothy Allen, Eddie Wayne Allen, Lynn Allen, Gary F. Allen, Jerry Allen, and sisters Ruby Deloris Allen Culbertson and Barbara Allen Thunstrom. She is survived by her husband, Paul Allan Hopkins, daughter Lori Hopkins Schuler and her daughter Alex, son David Hopkins and his wife Adah and daughter Caroline, brother Donald Grayson Allen and brother-in-law Don Culbertson, numerous nieces and nephews.
Per her wishes, there was no public service. A private graveside service for the family was held in the Hopkins family section of the Wise Cemetery, Wise, Virginia, on March 11, 2023, Don Culbertson officiating.
Memorials can be made to the charitable organization of the donor’s choice in the Shelbyville, Tennessee, area.
