John Brewster Hopkins, 71, of Truro died on April 23, 2020, in San José, Costa Rica, after holding on for weeks following a bodysurfing injury on Valentine’s Day at one of his favorite beaches, Playa Grande. He was in Costa Rica with his wife, Deborah McCulloch Hopkins.
John was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2016 and was an inspiration to many as he embraced a life of positivity and gratitude in the face of serious illness, Debbie told the Independent. He rejected aggressive treatments and survived far beyond his initial medical diagnosis, astounding doctors. It feels fitting that “JHop” did not die of cancer but of living his life to the fullest, doing what he loved most.
John was born in Nantucket in 1948 to Catherine and Charles Hopkins. In his early 20s, he married his first wife, Sheila Hopkins, with whom he raised three children.
John served in the military in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969, though he was not drafted. Instead, the police in Nantucket gave him an ultimatum to join the Army or be arrested. “He was a bad boy,” Debbie said.
Like many young men, John returned from the war without the coping skills or support to process the horrors he had witnessed. For the rest of his life, he fought for peaceful change. He was a member of the Cape Cod chapter of Veterans for Peace.
“He had a depth of soul and peace that was so powerful,” said his friend Diane Turco, of Harwich, who was a fellow antiwar protester since the 1980s.
After going to President George W. Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2005 to protest the Iraq War, John built 2,700 pine crosses in his barn and, along with Cape Codders for Peace and Justice, erected them as the Arlington East memorial at Coast Guard Beach in Eastham, a tribute to American soldiers and others killed in Iraq.
John was the spark plug of Veterans for Peace, said Duke Ellis, the group’s coordinator.
“Whenever we needed some spirit and wildness, he would provide it,” said Ellis.
Ellis recalled one Memorial Day in Centerville where parade organizers put the Veterans for Peace in the back of the line. John turned to Ellis and asked, “What are we doing back here?” Then he just started running towards the front of the parade in downtown Centerville, “and the rest of us followed,” Ellis said.
“He was angry in a good way about the military and the size of the military budget and he was outraged by the Defense Dept. But mostly he was wild, wild in a good way,” Ellis said.
John started his construction career in Watertown, working while attending the University of Massachusetts and raising a young family. He moved to Truro about 35 years ago.
He founded and for 26 years ran Augustus Construction, named after his grandfather. John was especially proud of how he cared for employees. He introduced novel practices such as twice-weekly free yoga sessions for them.
After years of overindulging in alcohol and drugs to cope with post-traumatic stress from Vietnam, John became sober in August 1995 with the help of the Wiccan community. He detoxed at the Vermont Witchcamp and returned often for retreats. John also credited his years of sobriety to the collective wisdom of his Alcoholics Anonymous family. He embraced sobriety as an opportunity to look inside, become vulnerable, and accept and make peace with his flawed human self.
After being diagnosed with cancer, he began using cannabis therapeutically. He and Debbie, a nurse, became advocates for the legalization of cannabis. John was a member of the High Dune Craft Cooperative.
John met Debbie while driving around the Bourne Rotary 16 years ago, where he spotted her protesting against the Iraq War. He pulled over to join the action. The two next met at an antiwar protest in U.S. Rep. William Delahunt’s Hyannis office, where they talked for eight hours before being arrested for trespassing.
Their first dates were court dates, Debbie said.
John loved gardening, especially weeding in the nude. He was also a visual artist, whose big, bold paintings explored his dreams.
Along with Debbie, he is survived by his daughter, Jessica Gebhardt, and husband Paul Gebhardt; his son Mark Hopkins and wife Kristin Knickerbocker; his son Brian Hopkins and wife Christal; his grandchildren, Julian, Amelia, Jack, and Kaia; his mother, Catherine, and stepfather Paul Lamothe; his sister, Melissa Hopkins Walsh; many nephews and nieces; and his 102-year-old aunt, Jeanne Hopkins. He was predeceased by his father and brothers, Steven and Thomas.
He leaves many friends, in particular Kevin Powers, a Vietnam veteran and peace activist who was like a brother to him.
A service will be held at a later date.
