Mary Nell (Coleman) Hopkins

Vidalia,

Mary Nell Coleman Hopkins of Vidalia, Georgia passed away peacefully in the early morning of January 19, 2019, at the age of 97.  She was born on November 23, 1921, in Vidalia, Georgia to Ira Raymond Coleman and Mary Owen Coleman.

She attended Vidalia High School, graduating as Valedictorian in 1940. Thereafter, she worked for many years with Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company as an operator. 

Just after World War II, Nell married Thomas Holcombe Hopkins of Savannah, Georgia. The couple lived in Vidalia for a brief time and then moved to Savannah, Georgia. In Savannah, Nell worked as a bookkeeper for Levy’s Department Store. In 1962, Nell and her family moved back to Vidalia, where she worked at Lee Hardware until her retirement in 1988. 

Nell was an active member of the Vidalia First United Methodist Church and is remembered by all who knew her as a person who exemplified kindness and compassion. She lived a life full of love (a love she shared with both humans and animals alike), and that is surely a life well-lived.  Nell was preceded in death by her husband, the love of her life, Thomas Holcombe Hopkins, and her two sisters, Hazel Coleman Fulghum and Betty Coleman Rackley.

Mrs. Hopkins is survived by her son, Thomas Holcombe Hopkins, Jr. and his wife Linda, of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and her daughter, Ann Hopkins Bedingfield and her husband Bill of Vidalia, Georgia. She is also survived by her granddaughters Leigh Ann Bedingfield Beck (Ben), Carrie Ann Hopkins Hancock (Jacob), and Lindsey Brooke Hopkins (Chris Barfield); her great grandchildren Tyler Beck, Chloe Beck, Levi Hancock, Ezra Hancock, and Ivey Kate Hancock; nieces Camille Fulghum, Kay Rackley, and Karyn Rackley Carter; and nephews Lee Fulghum and Owen Fulghum.

The funeral service will be held Tuesday, January 22nd at 11:00 a.m. in the First United Methodist Church of Vidalia with Reverend David Blalock officiating.  Burial will follow in the Pinecrest Cemetery.

The family will receive friends Tuesday morning at the First United Methodist Church, 209 Church St., from 10:00 until just prior to the service.

Those desiring may make memorial contributions to the First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 150, Vidalia GA 30475.

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