Margaret Dixon Hopkins (Dowell)

Margaret Dixon Dowell Hopkins (Dixie), a former teacher and choir director, died on Monday at Hart Heritage Assisted Living in Street, MD. She was 91. Mrs. Hopkins was born at home and lived 83 years on Dowell Lane in Bradshaw, MD, a place she called “Serenity”. She and her husband Stanley moved to Brightview Assisted Living in Bel Air in 2005, then Hart Heritage in 2007.

Dixie was a 1939 graduate of St. Stephens High School. She earned a degree in Elementary Education from what is now known as Towson State University. She was a teacher and vice-principal in Baltimore County Schools before leaving in 1949.

While raising her family, she conducted piano lessons in her home and tutored students for many years. She even taught adults who had never learned to read.

She was a lifelong member of St. Stephens Church. She served as the organist and choir director there for many years and was a member of the Sodality and the Ladies of Charity. Her Church and her family were her priorities in her life.

Dixie had a deep love for nature, especially for the birds. She loved music, reading, art, and the Baltimore Orioles, but traveling was her passion. She and her family spent many summer vacations in Wildwood, New Jersey and did an occasional road trip, but once their children were grown, Dixie and Stanley traveled at least four times a year, including going across the country in their RV.

She was the beloved wife of the late Charles Stanley Hopkins. The daughter of the late Richard Dixon and Sarah Baldwin Dowell, dear sister of the late Mary Ahl and Catherine Murray. Dixie is survived by her loving daughters, Jeanne and her husband Bob Clancy, Pattie and her husband Henry Eiswert, Dee and her husband Steve Bogan, Kathy and her husband Jim Paquette.

She leaves behind her much loved grandchildren, Jennifer Freburger Childs and her husband Garth, Jessica and Katie Eiswert, Heidi Eiswert Washington and her husband Curtis, Tae and Joi Bogan, Jimmy and Jenna Paquette. Also, her great-grandchildren, Nathan, Colin and Jordan Childs, Alivia Boddy and Coale Washington. She is also survived by her niece Kathy Eiswert, her nephews Rick Ahl, David Hopkins, Tom and Paul Murray, and her longtime friends, Connie Rahn and Gloria Williams. The family is also grateful for the wonderful staff at Hart Heritage who were her second family for 5 years.

Visiting at the E.F. Lassahn Funeral Home, P.A., 11750 Belair Road (Kingsville) on Thursday, January 17, 2013, from 3-5 & 7-9 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Stephen’s Church (Bradshaw) on Friday, January 18, 2013, at 10 am. Interment Highview Memorial Gardens.