Mila Hope (Stapp) Hopper

Mila Hope Stapp Hopper passed away on November 13, 2020. Born at Montpelier, KY on June 9, 1931, she was the daughter of the late Jessie Wolford and Clyde Stapp. She was preceded in death by Edwin Hopper, son John Mark Hopper, and brother Jerry Stapp. Her brothers, Terry (Sylvia) and Richard Stapp, Russell Springs, KY survive. Mila leaves three children: Michael (James Hickey) Hopper, Brighton, MA; and Mickie (Fred) Tarter and Mary Ann (Kevin) Williams, both of Russell Springs. She is also survived by seven grandchildren: Olivia (Drew) Haeberle, Smyrna, GA; Josh (Stefanie) Tarter, Nicholasville, KY; Ben (Dawn) Tarter, Springfield, VA; Andrea (James Turner) Williams, Adam (Sarah) Williams, Alyson (Garrett) Lawless, and Leah Brooke (Shane) Williams, all of Russell Springs. She leaves 21 great-grandchildren: Pierce and Walker Haeberle; Daphne, Davis, Caris, Cameron, Levi, Everly, and Ava Tarter; Kaden Williams; Aubrey, Liam, and Gatlin Turner; Garrett and Molly Williams; Braxton and Kennedy Lawless; Lilly, Gabe, and Adley Williams; and Jayla Brown.

Her childhood was rather peripatetic: at age eight she was living with her maternal grandparents in Montpelier and later attended high school in Chenoa, IL and then Anderson, IN. In Chenoa she sang in the girls and mixed choruses, studied piano, and was a drum majorette in the band. Upon graduation from high school she was determined to become a nurse despite little resources and was accepted into the Louisville General Hospital School of Nursing. She worked her way through nursing school and graduated as an R.N. in 1952. She served in many venues in the health services field, the longest two being the Russell County Health Department—hundreds of school children remember her giving them their first inoculations—and finally with Lifeline Home Health Care where she traversed most of the roads in Russell County before retiring.

Her life experience imbued her with a penchant for those less fortunate and gave her a different way of looking at the world. She questioned prescribed rules and was a non-conformist at heart. As her grandson Josh noted she did not judge anyone, and she helped whomever she could—sometimes to her own detriment. In her quiet, unassuming manner she loved her family, friends, and fellow human beings. Her dogged determination each Christmas to make sure her almost 40 family members had a gift under the tree and the associated annual ritual to transport those gifts was merely one manifestation of her love.

A walk-through, socially distanced, and mask-mandatory visitation will take place at the Bernard Funeral Home, Russell Springs, on Monday, November 16, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, with a celebration of life on Tuesday, November 17, at 11:00 am. Interment will be in the Fairview Baptist Church Cemetery with Josh and Ben Tarter; and Adam, Garrett, Kaden, and Gabe Williams, and Garrett Lawless serving as pallbearers. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations in Mila’s memory may be made to the Russell County Women’s Circle Fund, Lake Area Foundation: http://lakeareafoundation.com/make-a-gift, or, Hospice of Lake Cumberland: https://www.hospicelc.org/donate/

Arrangements entrusted to the Bernard Funeral Home with online guestbook and video tribute available at www.bernardfuneralhome.com

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