My Mom was born as #6 in a family of 11 children. They lived along Wolf Creek in the area of Jabez. After leaving the creek the family lived in the Eli area.
Mom married my Dad, Oval Hopper, on December 30th, 1953. They moved to Indianapolis about a year later, after the birth of their first child, Larry.
After my birth in 1959, the family moved back to Kentucky and Mom settled into the life of raising us kids and working on the farm. She was always a very hard worker, growing a big garden to can and freeze. She was always working on the farm, both at the side of my Dad, and, when he was working at his job, she took care of the farm, working in tobacco, corn, hay, etc.

Mom took good care of her family. Her cooking was legendary. No one ever helped us work on the farm without being treated to her home cooked meals. She sewed my school clothes and made sure that her children were always in school and got good grades. Getting an education was important to her, as she was denied the opportunity to get an education for herself. She was an avid reader. Her family was her life.

She was also a wonderful grandmother to two grandchildren, Kim and Jeremy. She enjoyed playing with them and taking care of them. She sometimes said she had her real childhood with them.

After us kids left home, she continued to grow a big garden. She made sure our families had plenty to eat. She loved to sew. Her embroidery work was unbelievably beautiful, and she could not sit down without something in her hands to sew on. She made quilts, pillow cases, etc. Each family member has several articles of Mom's artwork in our homes. But as her eyesight began to fail, it became difficult for her to read and sew, and the early onset of Alzheimer's disease robbed her of the beautiful memories she had made with her family. The last years of her life were unkind to her, and she left this world on December 31, 2006, 52 years and one day after marrying my Dad. She is greatly missed by her family.

Dortha Mae Chumbley Hopper was born on February 24, 1936 and died on December 31, 2006. She is survived by her husband, Oval Hopper. One son -Larry Ray Hopper. One daughter -- Linda Holtzclaw. Two grandchildren - Kim Foley, and Jeremy Hopper.

She was buried January 3, 2007 in Holt's Cemetery in the Tucker Ridge community of Russell County, Kentucky.