Herbert Hopkins, a dear husband, father and friend passed away at his home in Lombard on Thursday afternoon, July 23, 2026. Herbert was the founder and current chairperson of International Neighbors, Inc., a not-for-profit organization serving women and girls in rural West Africa (particularly Liberia). Herbert also served for several years on the Board of Directors of Pizza & Social Justice and was an active member of the Baha’i Faith community. Born in April 1931 in Memphis, TN, Herbert served in the United States Army during the Korean Conflict earning the rank of Sergeant. Herbert was buried on Monday, July 27, 2026, with full military honors at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. A memorial service for Herbert is planned for Saturday, August 15, 2026, at Peoples Community Church, 670 S Lambert Rd. Glen Ellyn IL 60137. The time will be announced here when it is available. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; his son, Elliot, and daughter-in-law, Sonya; his granddaughter, Amber; and his great grandchildren, Nadua and Legend. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to International Neighbors (https://international-neighbors.com/).

Sergeant Herbert P. Hopkins, Jr.

134th Field Artillery Regiment, 37th Infantry Division, United States Army, 1951-53

“Herbert Peter Hopkins, Jr. was born in Memphis, Tennessee on April 27, 1931. In 1942 his father, Herbert Hopkins, Sr, died and his mother, Lillian Goodwin Hopkins, moved to Chicago to find work. Herbert joined her there shortly thereafter. He attended the YMCA High School in Chicago and became fascinated with photography.

On his 20th birthday, April 27, 1951, Herbert enlisted in the United States Army in Chicago with the understanding that he could be trained as a photographer and be eligible for college under the GI Bill. He was ordered to report to Ft. Sill in Oklahoma for basic training. In September 1951 Private Hopkins was assigned to the 134th Field Artillery Regiment of the Army’s 37th Infantry Division (also known as the “Buckeye Division” because of its pre-Civil War roots in the Ohio State Militia) and deployed to the Korean Conflict. As part of the 134th Field Artillery Regiment, Herbert saw combat in the United Nations Summer and Fall Offensive, the Second Korean Winter Campaign, and the Korean Summer and Fall Offensive of 1952.

Having achieved the rank of corporal during his service in Korea and earning both the “Korean Service Medal with Three Service Stars” and the “United Nations Service Medal”, Herbert was reassigned to the training cadre at Fort Polk in Louisiana in September 1952. At Ft. Polk, Herbert was engaged in training new recruits. In addition to his two commendations in Korea, Hopkins was awarded both the “National Defense Service Medal” and the “U.S. Army Good Conduct Medal”. In July 1953 Hopkins was named Soldier of the Month at Fort Polk. Shortly thereafter he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He continued to serve as part of the Army’s training cadre until his honorable discharge on November 19, 1953.

After returning to civilian life, Herbert married Joan Ealy. Under the GI Bill, he continued college courses begun in the Army while concurrently working as a Chicago Police Officer. Herbert and Joan had become the proud parents of their son, Bruce Elliot Hopkins, before Herb graduated from Columbia College in Chicago with a double major in Education and Communications. After graduation from Columbia, Herbert worked as the house manager at Bronzeville’s original Regal Theatre, and then in the summer of 1964, after his divorce, took a summer job teaching film making to teens in an Upward Bound Project. That led him into an entirely new career in social work. He returned to school and earned his Master’s Degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago and married Nancy Hayward, in June 1970. He earned a second Master’s Degree from the University of Michigan, in Public Health, followed by a two-year fellowship in the Philippines coordinating maternal and child health programs in rural villages.

The next 35 years in social services included administrative positions with Planned Parenthood in Detroit and Washington, DC; as well as a stint as Deputy Director of their South East Asia Region serving eight countries. He also worked as a contractor with CARE Philippines managing a team of 84 young people providing post-typhoon disaster relief in remote villages. As an outgrowth of that work, Herbert founded the non-profit, International Network for Development to provide intermediate technology to schools in some of the same villages. His team trained local young people to build and maintain cisterns that collect rain water running off the school roofs so that children would not have to haul water from contaminated shallow wells; and when grant money to support his organization was scarce, Herbert managed the best jazz bands in Manila booking them into the leading international hotels to earn funds to pay his staff. To support his wife’s return to graduate school, he accepted a contract to formulate the program, hire 30 staff and manage two young-adult service centers at a remote Philippine refugee camp for Vietnamese Boat People. After six months recovering from typhoid, Herbert spent a year in Hong Kong as mental health counselor with Vietnamese asylum seekers.

On his return to the US, he was hired as the Director of Immigration Services for the International Institute of Detroit. In 2002, Herbert returned to Chicago with his current wife, Nancy Hayward Hopkins, and founded Citizenship Plus, LLC to teach permanent residents (i.e., “Green Card Holders”) the requirements for achieving U.S. citizenship and to assist immigrants with the multitude of paperwork now required to bring their spouses and other family members into the United States through legal channels.”

In 2022, Herbert and Nancy brought together friends to found the nonprofit International Neighbors, Inc. Herbert’s wish was that it continue to grow to support organizations that improve the lives of women and girls in West Africa.

Adapted from Reflections Framed Project 2018

Subject: Herbert Peter Hopkins, Jr.

Story Told By: Nancy Hopkins (Spouse), Elliot Hopkins (Son)

& Yvor Stoakley (Friend)