Janet Sue (Sides) Hopkins

Rev. Janet Sue Hopkins, 77, formerly of Burfordville, Missouri, passed away Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at the home she and Leo shared near Advance, Missouri.

She was born February 5, 1947, to Clyde and Winifred "Winnie" Golden Sides. Janet attended Jackson High School. She and Terry Hopkins were married August 21, 1970, and they shared a wonderful life. They owned and operated a cattle farm near Burfordville, raising show cattle and commercial cattle, and owned and operated the Little Ole Opry and Campground near Burfordville, until Terry's passing on December 23, 2020. For years, folks enjoyed friendship and entertainment at the opry and campground.

Janet always enjoyed working and learning. She always had a heart for the elderly and U.S. veterans, and as she worked to complete her formal education, she focused on gerontology. She worked 19 years at the Lutheran Home and 10 years at the Missouri Veterans Home, both in Cape Girardeau. She took classes at SEMO and MIZZOU to become a therapeutic-recreation director, and also attended Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City and Hendrix College in Arkansas. She ministered locally for over 40 years in United Methodist churches throughout the counties of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, and Wayne.

Janet was community-minded, serving as president of the PTA, and holding various officers in the University of Missouri Extension. When asked to sum up her life, she replied, "Much of my life was in service to others. I was devoted to my son and grandchildren. I understand why God gave his only son that we might have eternal life, because I certainly would have laid down my life for my son and grandchildren." Janet received a humanitarian award and always kept it on her wall. With a positive attitude and a message of hope, she challenged herself to meet new people, in hopes that their life might be a little bit better after meeting her.

In 2022, God joined Janet and Leo Adams in marriage. During their brief time together, they enjoyed traveling extensively. Illness struck Janet in February while they were traveling in Florida.

Loving survivors include her spouse, Leo Adams of Advance; and her family: son, John (Jackie) Hopkins of Burfordville; grandchildren, Matthew (Melanie) Hopkins of St. James, Missouri, Jesse (Nacole) Hopkins of Burfordville, and Abby Hopkins of Jackson; great-grandchildren, John, Jackie, Zoie, Colton, Olivia, Aiden, Ethan, and Owen; siblings, Mike (late Margaret) Sides of Jackson, Kenny (Dorothy) Sides of Oak Ridge, Lesa (Wayne) Brotherton of Millersville; brother-in-law, Ron (late Sheila) Hecht of Jackson; cousins, nieces, nephews, and great-nieces-nephews.

Terry's surviving family includes his sisters, Dianna Caramico and Delores Poulos, both of Palatine, Illinois; a sister-in-law, Helen (late Ora Lee) Hopkins of Burfordville; cousins, nieces, nephews, and great-nieces-nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Terry; her parents, Clyde and Winnie Sides; two siblings, Sheila Hecht and Deanna Meehan; Terry's parents, Noah and Beulah Hopkins; and his brothers, Harold Gene Hopkins and Ora Lee Hopkins.

Visitation is from 11 a.m. to service time, Friday, March 22, 2024, at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.
Pastor Ann Mowery will conduct the funeral service at 2 p.m., Friday, March 22, 2024, at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson.

If considering a memorial, the family suggests St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or Millersville Methodist Church.

Online condolences may be sent to the family by clicking on the tribute wall tab above Janet's obituary article at mccombsfuneralhome.com.

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