Birth date: Oct 19, 1954 Death date: Mar 7, 2023
William Raymond Hopkins, my beloved husband left this earth after a brief, but difficult battle with cancer. A fighter until the end, he passed away on March 7, 2023 at the age of 68. Raymond requested a cremation and that his ash Read Obituary
Ray, you are missed…Early morning texting, until it was time to entice Linda out of bed with a morning cup of coffee. Always a story tell, an adventure to share! Occasions around fire pits swapping “kitchen war wounds”, and sharing recipes/techniques. First you were a good neighbor; glad we became great friends!!
Buddhist saying “Pain in life is inevitable, but suffering is optional.” We will try not to suffer, we will share in the memories!!!
Every time we have driveway happy hour or a fire in the front, we will raise a glass to Ray. RIP neighbor. Hugs and prayers for Linda.
Gavin and Diane
We met Linda and Ray through our friends, Jim and Judy. Linda and Judy met in high school. Ray always had a smile not only on his face but in his eyes. One of my fondest memories of Ray was at a party we had at our house. We had many friends and family, including my parents, who were probably in their 80's at the time. My mother was talking to Ray and neither of them had the best hearing. My mother came to me and said something like, who is that guy named Larry. I said that there's no one here name Larry, show me who you are talking about. She pointed to Ray. To this day, I don't know if he told her that was his name as a joke or she heard him wrong, but from that day forward, we referred to them as Linda and Larry.
We know you will miss Ray. Hold on to all those happy memories and the fun things you did together.
Diane and Jerry Elmore
Ray was a great neighbor and loved to chat about his days in the service. He always had a friendly "hello" and "how are you". I will miss his big smile and wave as I drive down the street. RIP Ray.
We met Linda and Ray 25 years ago and formed a wonderful and long friendship. We traveled and had many fun times together. Ray was a caring and kind man. He loved to laugh. Linda was his best friend and the love of his life. Ray will always have a special place in our hearts forever and he will be missed.
Bill and Susan Howery
My deepest condolences to Linda and the whole Hopkins family.
Even though I hadn't seen my cousin Ray in well over 20 yrs, I can only imagine he was the same guy I remember.
See you on the other side, Ray.
Ray, My Birthday Twin
Ray and I were born the same day, the same year: October 19, 1954. Bob and I met Linda and Ray not long after we moved from Chicago, Illinois to Maryland. These newlyweds had the apartment above us in Seabrook on Good Luck Road! We had only been married a few years as well.
But it was not luck, but rather a blessing that we came to know Linda and Ray aver 44 years ago! We were all very young and fun-loving, enjoying much laughter and friendship. Ray and I, the “birth twins” discovered that we were both very good at picking things up with our feet. But both Bob and Linda recall that we could also pinch our spouses with our toes!
When we wanted to signal a “hello” to the other couple, we would tap on the medal pole in our apartments. The sound rang into the apartment above/below.
Not too far into our friendship, Ray was diagnosed with a brain tumor. We watched Ray’s upbeat fortitude in fighting the illness, and we all prayed for his healing. Of course Ray was blessed with decades of good health. We referred to him as “the Miracle Man.”
We have been living in Pennsylvania for many years, and our son just began his seminary studies in Theology this year in Baltimore. We were recently able to combine a visit with Peter for a seminary event, and a visit to Ray and Linda – truly a gift from the Hand of Our Lord.
It was a sense of coming “full circle” with Ray and Linda, and a very blessed visit that we will always remember. Ray passed into eternal life only a week later.
We are so thankful that the Lord brought us all together back in the early days, and most recently in a friendship that could always just pick up where it left off.
Know of our continued prayers and support, Linda. May faith, family, friends and beautiful memories always bring you comfort and peace.
Love and blessings,
Bob and Mary
Hi - I'm Linda's cousin, Sharon. Dale is my husband. We enjoyed times spent with Linda and Ray. We all had a lot of fun at Henry family gatherings. Except for one occasion, I remember Ray as being soft spoken.
Dale and I had received four tickets to an Orioles baseball game and we invited Linda and Ray. This was during the time that Wade Boggs was controversial. The O's happened to be playing Boggs' team. When Boggs came up, Ray started yelling at him. I never knew Ray could yell that loud. Despite the distance and noise of the stadium, I know Boggs heard him because he looked right at us. All we could do was smile and say, "That's Raymond!" He was unique and we will miss him.
This is more about the remarkable love story of Ray & Linda. They met at Duval High School in Glenn Dale, MD. Linda was an Army brat and raised all over. Fate somehow brought these two love birds together.
After high school, Ray joined the USCG at the age of 17. He was, among other duties, "Radar" to his Captain while stationed in NYC. Ray served 4 years and after his release, he was sort of "finding his way".
Ray worked a few different jobs, including one at a gas station in Greenbelt. In November of 1976 Ray and I, along with a couple of our rowdy friends went to see Frank Zappa at the Capital Centre. Frank was introducing the next tune that involved a tale of joining the service, and when you get out, you wind up working in a gas station. Wait, WHAT?! Ray and the rest of us let out a huge cheer!
Soon after, Linda would marry the captain's secretary and join the Howard County Police force. You can't make this stuff up. Ray and Linda were the proverbial two peas in a pod! Soul mates to the Nth degree. I will miss my brother, but my thoughts are 1st and foremost with my Sister In Law. Rest In Peace Brother.
