Hopkins, 56, grad student

Gilbert Nicholas Hopkins, a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student in the School of Social Work, died Nov. 8 because of complications arising from heart disease.

Hopkins, 56, was in his second of three years at a part-time master's of social work program in Fayetteville, in which he was held in high esteem by students and professors alike.

"He was the most articulate and educated of our class," said fellow classmate Sarah Naradzay.

The program's director, Katherine Dunlap, called Hopkins an excellent student whose opinions were well respected by his peers.

With a master's in business administration and a doctorate in management information systems from Indiana University, Hopkins evinced an intellectual aura. Even more impressive than his academic capacities were his altruistic ones.

Upon completing his degrees at Indiana University in 1984, Hopkins accepted a faculty position at Boston University teaching management information systems to graduate students. Five years later, he took a professorship at UNC-Greensboro.

In 1993, having wearied of the academic world, Hopkins decided to quit, telling his wife, Darlene, that it was her turn to pick where the family moved.

Darlene chose Fayetteville, where she became the director of counseling and psychological services at Methodist College. Her husband, she said, became a "full-time political activist."

The organizations in which he was involved read like a laundry list of social activism.

Darlene said her husband would spend one overnight shift each week at Contact, the local 24-hour suicide prevention hotline. As a member of Fayetteville Peace With Justice, he helped advocate for the use of peace in America's struggles against terrorism and Iraq. He also participated in the campaign to elect Marshall Pitts, Fayetteville's first black mayor.

Of all his causes, Hopkins was most interested in securing a moratorium on the death penalty, a "topic on which he was absolutely passionate," Naradzay said.

Hopkins worked with the People of Faith Against the Death Penalty and started a chapter in Fayetteville. He wrote letters to the editor, participated in demonstrations and worked with the families of inmates on death row.

As Hopkins continued his work on the death penalty, Darlene said, it seemed to him that a moratorium was less and less likely to pass.

Through his work with families, Hopkins saw the social issues that caused murder and began to think, "Maybe there's something we can do to prevent murders in the first place," Darlene said. With that thought, a new cause was added to Hopkins' collection - violence prevention.

But before he'd gotten too far, Hopkins realized that "in order to be credible as a leader in preventing violence, he needed a credential," Darlene said. Hopkins returned to school to earn a social work degree.

In addition to his wife, Hopkins is survived by his daughter, Jenni Hopkins of Fayetteville; his stepdaughter, Misty Sonner of Carlsbad, N.M., and several grandchildren.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.