Jeannette's Obituary from the Portsmouth Herald

Renowned book editor Jeannette Hopkins dies at 88

Social justice at heart of work

By Charles McMahon

cmcmahon@seacoastonline.com

August 08, 2011 2:00 AM

PORTSMOUTH — The literary world suffered a great loss last week when Jeannette Hopkins, a city resident and world-renowned book editor, died unexpectedly at the age of 88.  Hopkins died while in the hospital due to complications from a medical condition on Aug. 4, according to her niece, Carol Gray.

Her commitment to her craft was evident up until the hours before her death, said Gray, who called her aunt one of the most influential and iconic book editors of the post-World War II era.  "She continued to work full time up to the hours before her death," Gray said. "The latest manuscript she was editing lay on the table next to her bed."  

Calling her death a "great loss," Gray said Hopkins was highly respected in her field. The list of authors and editors she worked with could serve as proof of that, she said.  They included James MacGregor Burns, Kenneth Clark, Frank Mankiewicz, Edwin Newman, Annie Dillard, Richard Rovere, C.S. Lewis and many more.

Having graduated as valedictorian of Vassar College's Class of 1944, Hopkins went on to study at Columbia School of Journalism. In addition to editing, Gray said Hopkins was also a great writer and co-authored a book with Kenneth Clark called "A Relevant War Against Poverty: A Study of Community Action Programs and Observable Social Change."  She started her career as a reporter for the New Haven Register and went on to work at the Providence Journal-Bulletin and later the Oklahoma City Times.  She then became senior editor at various publishing companies.

But writing was not her only passion, according to Gray.  Hopkins was an elected at-large member of the National Board of the American Civil Liberties Union. Gray said Hopkins would often comment that she was the only person alive who had ever read every page of the FBI files from the McCarthy era obtained by the ACLU when she was on the National Board.  Hopkins remained a member of the ACLU's National Advisory Council until her death. "She had a heart for social justice like no one else," Gray said.

Locally, Hopkins was a longtime member of the South Church. Gray said her aunt spent many years enjoying the Unitarian conferences on Star Island in the Isles of Shoals.

Having moved to Portsmouth in the early 1990s, Gray said Hopkins rarely left her home on Prey Street but still remained active in the community.  "She didn't get out much, but the community came to her," she said.

A memorial celebration service is slated for 10 a.m. Labor Day, Sept. 5, at South Church, Gray said. A reception will be held in Hopkins' garden following the service.

Gray said donations in lieu of flowers should be made in Hopkins' name to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or the ACLU Foundation.

(Note:  Jeannette would have been pleased to see she made the front page.  Here is a link to this Portsmouth Herald article:   http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20110808-NEWS-108080324)

Vassar College's Website: "An Editor with a Cause"

The following write up is found on one of Vassar College's webpages featuring prominent alumni.  Here is the link to that page:  http://english.vassar.edu/major/where/Jeannette-Hopkins-44.html

An Editor with a Cause

Library at Vassar College. 
Photo from Goooge Images.

Editor of one of Vassar's premier literary magazines, the Vassar Brew, Jeannette Hopkins, class of '44, began to forge her career in publishing as a junior English major at Vassar College. Equipped with a BA in English from Vassar and an MS from the Columbia University School of Journalism, Jeannette spent her first few years out of academia working as a reporter for the New Haven Register, the Providence Journal-Bulletin and the Oklahoma City Times. At a time when women in the publishing industry were few and far between, she helped pave the way for female editors across the nation when she began working as a senior editor for the Beacon Press in Boston and eventually became a senior editor at Harcourt Brace. She left this post to become a senior editor at Harper & Row, where she spent close to ten years before leaving to set up her own editorial consulting business in New York City. During her time at Harper & Row, she also became executive editor of the Harper-Carnegie sponsored urban publications program.

Returning to academia, Jeannette became director and editor-in-chief for the Wesleyan University Press and an Adjunct Professor of English at Wesleyan University. She also allowed her interest in public affairs, specifically civil liberties and race relations, to become a priority in her life. In addition to co-authoring A Relevant War Against Poverty with Kenneth B. Clark, she has been an active member of the Unitarian church and was involved with the American Civil Liberties Union for many years as an elected member of the National Board; she still remains a member of the ACLU's National Advisory Council.

Even in her "full-time" retirement, Jeannette continues to mentor young authors and young assistant professors on the tenure track. Her devotion to the craft of writing and the aspiring authors that she has helped shape is perhaps most evident in the subject of her unpublished manuscript: her experience working with writers from Lewis Mumford, C.S. Lewis, James MacGregor and others. On her experience with editing the work of young authors, she writes: "If I can, I expect to continue this work as long as possible."

Photo from google images of Vassar College.

The Early Years

Jeannette was one of two girls.  Her sister, Susan Hopkins (later Gray), was my mother.  Her mother, Gladys Hopkins (formerly Hull), was a bold woman who taught in an African American high school in the south when she was in her early 20's.  She met her husband, Carleton Hopkins, three days before he was headed off to World War I.  He proposed to her after only 3 days and she accepted so they were engaged while he served in the war.  Carleton Hopkins later became a well-respected high school principal in Camden, New Jersey.  Jeannette's family lived near Camden in a town called Collingswood. 

Here are a couple photos of Jeannette as a child in her college years.



Jeannette is on the left.



Jeannette is on the left, her mother, Gladys, in the middle,
and my mother, Sue, on the right.



Jeannette's Garden

"If you have a garden and a library,

you have everything you need."
Marcus Tullius Cicero

Many of you know how much Jeannette loved her garden, as did anyone who visited it.  Here are some photos to remind you how beautiful it is or to show it to those of you who've never seen it. Jeannette was proud that her garden was on the South Church Garden Tour.  When she offered me the diagrams of her garden as part of her 'recycling' Christmas presents, I was amazed (though I guess I shouldn't have been, knowing Jeannette) at the level of detail in her drawings.  I'm guessing these were made in preparation for the Garden Tour, or perhaps just for her own records.  You can click on the diagrams or any of the photos to make them larger.

Here is a map of the "Back Gardens": 

Here is Jeannette's diagram of the "Front Gardens":
Here's the map of the front gardens.

Here's a map of the side gardens called "Raised Perennial Side Garden":

View looking up at the sky from underrneath
the trellis over Jeannette's gate.

Jeannette had beautiful hosta.  She gave me a few hosta plants
so now they are thriving in our garden in Massachusetts.

Here is a photo of the entry to the "Rose and Lavendar Garden" and below that is the map for that garden.

Every corner of Jeannette's house and yard is quaint, even the little stairway leading to the outside entrance to the basement. 

Here's a map of this section called "Gate Gardens":

Here's a map of this section called "River-view side Gardens":

The above diagram is labeled "Terrace Garden."

In full bloom: 

The photo below is inside the Rose and Lavender Garden and the diagram below that is a close-up of that garden.