Charles O. Hopson | Supervisor, 92

Charles O. Hopson, 92, of Wynnefield Heights, who retired as mailroom supervisor at Reliance Insurance Co. at 86, died May 14 at home.

Mr. Hopson was a letter carrier with the U.S. Postal Service for 25 years. He then worked for Reliance in Philadelphia for 20 years - commuting by bus - before retiring in 2001.

He graduated from Overbrook High School in Philadelphia. During World War II, he was a millwright at the Frankford Arsenal.

Until he was 11 or 12, Mr. Hopson lived on his family's farm in Cheswold, Del. He shared memories of raising animals, finding Indian arrowheads, and hunting and fishing, said his grandson, Robert Gorgas. He remained a fly-fishing enthusiast. He also enjoyed opera, especially Pavarotti, and collected books on a wide variety of subjects.

He was proud of his American Indian and African American heritage, his grandson said. He was a member of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indian Tribe of New Jersey and worshipped at the historic African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Overbrook.

Mr. Hopson is survived by his wife of more than 70 years, Ruth Waugh Hopson; daughters Carla Tyson, Barbara Gorgas, Joyce Clark and Merle; a brother; and five grandchildren.

A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. today at Bringhurst Chapel, 215 Belmont Ave., Bala Cynwyd. Burial will be in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd.