On April 13, 2020 the McNichols Campus Library family lost one of its own to Covid-19. Linda Hopkins was Head of Acquisitions until she retired in 2005. She was vibrant and vivacious, beautiful inside and out. She was always dressed impeccably including the stylish hats she wore. But her ever-present smile and the joy from inside that flowed out to everyone around her distinguished her even more. Her loss is heartbreaking.

Former Dean of Libraries and Instructional Technology and Dean Emerita Margaret Auer wrote this of her passing:
 

It is hard to believe that Linda retired from the Libraries/Instructional Design Studio on June 30, 2005. She first came to the library in April 1957; took a short time off to have Glenda and then returned on June 1, 1965.

In the beginning Linda worked on the second floor of the McNichols Campus Library in what was the Periodical Reading Room. The full processing of more than ten thousand print journals and all government documents was handled on that floor. Between 1966 and 1978 she worked with librarian Jane Kroll who headed the department; they became fast and lifelong friends. During this period Linda was a mentor to many students, helping and encouraging them during the stress of academic life. Over the years many of these students remained in touch with her and would return to the library just to visit.

In 1978 Library Director Gary Denue reorganized by merging periodicals into acquisitions to form the new Acquisitions and Receiving Department. The employees from the two departments were moved to a room in the lower level in the area which now houses the electronic government documents shelving. Upon the retirement of the librarian head of this department in 1978, Linda was named as the new leader of this department. After becoming the head of the library system I moved the department to the first floor where they would have colleagues to interact with, would be closer to the periodicals room, and would have close proximity to the Associate Director/Dean for Technical Services and Library Systems.

What follows is from the announcement I wrote upon her retirement.

"She has been here long enough to remember when everything was done manually, no computers, just pens, pencils and typewriters. She has been through bringing up the Nonesuch acquisitions system, the transition to NOTIS, and most recently the migration to Horizon. The many changes in acquisitions work, journal additions and numerous cancellations, electronic ordering, approval plan, and purchasing web-based resources has required additional skills over the years. Linda has always been willing to learn, to adapt, and to assist departmental personnel in wading through the changing work situations. She has quality service to patrons as a center of focus for departmental activities, knowing that obtaining the right resources for patrons is what adds to the excellent education of UDM students.

Always willing to volunteer, Linda was there when we created (and closed) the Clarkston Library, split up and moved the Evening Business Administration Library, automated and shifted the Outer Drive Campus Library, prepared, moved, and merged the Dental Library into the Outer Drive Library, and then separated the Dental Library during the closing of the general Outer Drive Campus Library.

What is most important to write about Linda however, is the contribution she has made to vendor relations and staff morale. She has an excellent relationship with the vendors, including having an ability to chide them when not getting the service which she feels is warranted. She has always been a cheerleader, always willing to encourage others to be up to the challenges we have faced. Linda’s counsel is sought by others on the staff because she prefers to look on the bright side of situations and this outlook is often contagious. Her extroverted, sunny personality, and laugh will be greatly missed."

Upon her death, I am sure God was waiting for her to say "Welcome, good and faithful servant."

Since her retirement, Linda maintained connections with library staff by regularly attending the Library Christmas parties and other library events.  She even made the effort to establish relationships with newer library employees who were hired after her retirement.

Linda’s daughter Glenda battled Covid-19 alongside her mother.

MSN.Com featured a story on Linda’s and Glenda’s battle with Covid-19. The following are excerpts from that article. The full article can be found at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-mother-and-daughter-shared-a-hospital-room-fighting-coronavirus-until-the-end/ar-BB13wXA3?li=BBnb7Kz&fbclid=IwAR1m6FJMWJmWju9h8hHXB_J38fBWOqOG997AqLkSKce7rgstqhICUY54AtE

“A mother and daughter shared a hospital room, fighting coronavirus until the end

By Jon Schuppe

Glenda Johnson sat on her mother’s hospital bed, took her hand and told her it was OK to go. But Linda Hopkins, her face tensed against the smothering pain of coronavirus-related pneumonia, was not ready.

“I don’t want to die,” Linda, 83, replied, tubes feeding oxygen into her nostrils, her daughter later recalled. “It just hurts so bad.”

The two of them had a wonderful life in Detroit, about as close as a mother and daughter could be. They lived together, traveled together, shopped together, worshipped together, partied together. When they both fell ill in late March, they drove together to Beaumont Hospital in nearby Royal Oak, where they tested positive for COVID-19. They ended up in the same room, where they battled the disease together. Glenda, Linda’s only child, watched over her mother’s final moments.

Both of them had busy worlds beyond their singular relationship; Linda belonged to the Red Hat Society and several card-playing groups and was active in her church and local library, and Glenda worked as an event planner. They cut back on their social activity in early March, but Glenda got sick later that month, and Linda followed about a week after, Glenda said. They first thought they had the flu, but grew concerned as their symptoms worsened. After Linda’s fever spiked on March 28, they decided to go to the hospital.

Diagnosed with pneumonia, they were put in rooms on different floors of Beaumont, and spoke by phone multiple times each day. Glenda pressed her mother’s doctors and nurses for updates on her condition, and to make sure she was getting enough attention. On their fifth day in Beaumont, without their asking, Glenda and Linda were moved to the same room, a decision that Glenda said has made her grateful to the hospital. They talked, watched movies together, and called friends.

Glenda slowly improved, but Linda, who had diabetes, kidney disease and arthritis, deteriorated. She was put on dialysis. Her breathing grew more labored. Glenda tried to make her mother comfortable, helping her eat and adjusting her oxygen mask when it slipped off her mouth.

On April 10, Linda seemed to rebound. She ate well and phoned friends, telling them she’d see them soon, Glenda said. But two days later, a Sunday afternoon, her pneumonia worsened, and she was unable to focus on much else other than the pain.

Glenda held Linda’s hand and fed her ice chips. Linda told Glenda that having her had been as good as having four daughters. Glenda said she couldn’t have asked for a better mother.

As difficult as it was to watch her mother suffer, Glenda knew she was fortunate to remain by her side.

“It was a blessing, a bittersweet blessing, that we both got it and we were there together, and I was able to take care of her in a manner she was accustomed to, even in the hospital,” Glenda said later. “I made her days as pleasant and as happy as I possibly could. She was my heart, my life.”

Glenda’s vigil continued into the following day, April 13. That morning, Linda’s pulse was racing. The end seemed near.

Glenda gave her mother permission to die. “I told her I was going to be OK and if she saw my dad, to go with him. She said she hadn’t seen him because she did not want to die. She was fighting to live.”

Glenda asked if there was something the doctors could give her mother to ease her pain. The medication did not arrive in time.

Linda died holding Glenda’s hand.”

Our love and prayers are with Glenda at this time. Rest in peace our dear friend Linda.