Loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend, Max passed peacefully from his earthly life on July 25, 2021 with his family at his side, following a vigorous and well-lived life with his beloved wife of 65 years. At Willow Valley Communities in Willow Street, PA, Max and Carolyn capped an epic story of love, commitment, integrity and adventure - always with family at the center.

Born September 30, 1932, Max is survived by his wife Carolyn (nee Griffin), his sons Michael Hopkins (Melanie), and James Hopkins (Maria), his daughter Shari Rinaldi (William Rinaldi), his 5 grandchildren Christina, Benjamin, Anthony, Alyssa, and Thomas, his brother James B. Hopkins (the late Beatrice Hopkins), and 8 nephews and nieces. Predeceased by his parents Melvin and Bessie Hopkins (nee Benedict), sister Beatrice “Betty” Landers (the late George Landers), and brother Byron Jack Hopkins.

A pragmatic man, Max combined the intellect of a patent-holding research physicist alongside his colleagues and mentors at RCA’s renowned David Sarnoff Research Labs in Princeton, NJ, with the hands-on care-giving and generosity of an innkeeper at the Red Shutter Inn, in Wilmington, VT--where he and Carolyn partnered to provide guests and staff with a memorable “home” away from home. It was at the Red Shutter, too, that they adopted Ian, the first of their retired service dogs.

After Max and Carolyn’s graduation from Hanover College, where Max was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and Carolyn was Homecoming Queen, they put down their family roots at 54 Cambridge Road in Kendall Park, NJ. Just 4 houses from the school their children would attend and where Carolyn would later teach, they began to form the bonds of community with new friends and family connections that would carry across the miles with them for life. A lifelong family friend put it succinctly, “Max was an icon of my childhood ... he represented all dads from our childhood in the 60’s. He was a doer, a fixer, and a maker.”

Max’s interests were varied. He was a master woodworker and furniture maker, a private pilot of his favorite Beechcraft Musketeer, and an avid golfer from the public links of Bunker HIll and Princeton Golf Club to Hopewell Valley Golf Club and eventually to Brandermill Golf Club in Midlothian, VA. (He never quite cured a persistent hook off the tee, but he never stopped trying.)

Most of all, Max lived his life as an example to others--it came naturally to him--most notably impacting his children and friends. Two summers of cross-country camping trips in 1970 (6 weeks) and 1973 (5 weeks) in side by side trailers with sister Betty, her husband George, and niece Karen explored this great nation and exposed his family to the majesty of the land and the openness of space, stars, whispering pines, and the tilted wing tip of a soaring bird in flight. Ultimately, his family would return home with an even greater appreciation of each other, the beauty of the simple, yet abundant land, and the opportunity of the road ahead.

A Celebration of Life and Love will take place at a future date. Please visit EverLoved.com for more details and share remembrances and reflections.

Donations in memory of Maxwell M. Hopkins could be directed to Guiding Eyes for the Blind at GuidingEyes.com.

Sleep well Maxwell, in union with those gone before, and may the adventures ahead be miraculously beautiful. May God continue to bless you, and may your memory bring joy and peace to those who mourn.

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