Tim Hopkins

Charles Timothy “Tim” Hopkins of Idaho Falls passed away on April 23rd, 2021 of heart complications. Tim was born March 30th, 1936 in Idaho Falls, the son of Zoe and Talcott Hopkins and the younger brother of Tad and Henry. He grew up on South Boulevard where he rode horses, engaged in debate, and participated in sport.  He loved riding in the annual War Bonnet Roundup’s grand entries, tearing up the streets in the rumble seat of his brother Tad’s Model A, cruising with Henry in the giant black Buick Roadmaster and working for his father at Rogers Brothers Seed Company during the summers.  Tim was Student Body President when he graduated from Idaho Falls High School in 1954.

After graduation Tim enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Newfoundland, Canada. In 1956, following his service, Tim attended Stanford University in Palo Alto CA, and graduated in 1960 earning a degree in Political Science.  It was during this time that he met Anne Hardy, a bright and beautiful United Airlines Stewardess from North Carolina. They were wed June 27, 1959. 

Tim was interested in public service and public life. He received a Ford Foundation political internship after graduating from Stanford and went to work for the California GOP.  This led him to Washington DC and shortly after, with help from the G.I Bill, to George Washington Law School.  This was the Kennedy era and an exciting time to be in DC. While Tim was pursuing his law degree, Anne worked at the Smithsonian, and later at the White House assisting the curator who was helping Jackie Kennedy reassemble America’s treasures for public display. Through an associate’s job with the firm Covington & Burling, Tim was surrounded and influenced by some of the top legal and political figures of the day.  In 1962 Tim and Anne had their first child, Kate.  

Following GW Law, Tim wanted to return to the west which was made possible when he accepted a position with a prominent San Francisco firm. During their two years in the Bay Area, they experienced the magic and the upheaval of the times, but it was not Idaho, which was made clear when Tim asked where to do some duck hunting, and the answer was that he’d “have to rent a blind in the Sacramento delta.” In 1964 Tim and Anne had their second child, Elizabeth, who passed shortly after birth.  This was a turning point in their lives, and Tim was feeling the pull of home. Tim and Anne concluded they could either live in San Francisco and spend time off in Idaho, or live in Idaho and spend time off traveling the globe.  

In Idaho Falls Tim joined one of Idaho’s iconic law firms, Holden, Holden & Kidwell, then went on to start his own firm. In 1973, he joined forces with Skip French to create the law firm that is presently Hopkins, Roden, Crockett, Hansen, and Hoopes with offices in Idaho Falls and Boise.  In 1966 Tim and Anne gave birth to their daughter Hilary, and in 1968 to their son Talcott “Ted”. 

Tim’s law career in Idaho was outstanding and was marked by the lifelong personal and professional relationships he cultivated with his peers. Tim argued approximately 35 cases before the Idaho Supreme Court, including key cases in land-use, water rights and redistricting.  Tim also served as President of the Idaho Bar in the State’s Centennial year, 1991.  Following that service, Tim served in the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, and soon after became a member of the ABA Board of Governors.  One of Tim’s great ABA honors was to serve on the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, and to Chair that Committee in 2007-2008. Tim loved the law, every part of it.

Tim believed in service and loved serving Idaho.  He was a founding board member of City Club of Idaho Falls, served on the Idaho Humanities Council board, and held leadership roles in the local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, the United Way, and so many more important organizations.  But Tim’s true passion was for the planet and its landscapes, especially Idaho landscapes.  He served as chairman of the board for both the Nature Conservancy’s Idaho chapter, and the Teton Regional Land Trust.

In the 1980s Tim supported the Southfork Coalition in their effort to stop the construction of a large residential Planned Unit Development and golf course at the Hays Ranch adjacent to Lufkin Bottom in the South Fork of the Snake River’s stunning canyon section.  This effort eventually led to protection of this magical place for perpetuity.  It’s an American treasure, and Tim’s efforts in keeping it wild, along with numerous other properties along this river corridor, are one of his many enduring gifts to us all. 

Though Tim was a lawyer who looked the part, acted the part, and was “the part”, he was also a family man and an avid outdoorsman who relished catching a cutthroat on a dry fly, chasing upland birds and ducks, and both riding and bettin’ on them horses. Tim spent many hours on his favorite horse Rex, riding and wrangling at “round ups” in the Bone area.
  
The trove of family memories is abundant and varied, but many were around tables sharing coffee and newspapers in the morning, long wonderful dinners with great conversations, and once all were of age, spirited cocktail hours in front of the fireplace or gin and tonics outside on the patio. Family drives while "eating dust" with the windows down, Teton Valley ranch walks and floating in tubes on tributary creeks to the Teton River were regular occurrences. Skiing as a family at Grand Targhee and Kelly Canyon was a favorite family activity, as were winters and summers in Sun Valley with Tim’s mother Zoe. He loved tending his rose garden and closely followed the progress of the daffodils, tulips, iris, apricot and fruit trees around the family home. Tim shared his love of nature and his love of Idaho in ways that will always be imprinted on our hearts.

Tim is survived by his loving wife, Anne Hardy Hopkins; his daughter Kate Hopkins Salomon and son-in-  law Hopi Salomon, daughter Hilary Anne Hopkins, son Talcott Edward “Ted” Hopkins; and his adored granddaughters, Emma Anne Salomon and Lauryn Elizabeth Hopkins. He was preceded in death by daughter Elizabeth Anne, his parents Talcott and Zoe, and his brothers Tad and Henry.

"Spring is here in eastern Idaho, and in our part of the Greater Yellowstone, native cutthroats will soon be finding their way up streams bordered with long lush grasses and stands of bushy willows for their annual spawning ritual. Shaggy moose and whitetails are nibbling tender green shoots on the floor of the cottonwood forests. And birds, everywhere, all kinds, are calling out to each other with invitations for spring romance. This is our place . . .” – Tim Hopkins 

The family suggests memorial contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to:

Teton Regional Land Trust, PO Box 247, Driggs, ID 83422, www.tetonlandtrust.org

Idaho Falls Symphony, 440 N Capital Avenue, Suite B, Idaho Falls, ID  83402, www.ifsymphony.org

Idaho Falls Community Outreach Center, 301 S Boulevard, Idaho Falls, ID  83401, www.ifoutreach.org

There will be a private family and law firm service on May 8th and a Celebration of Tim’s Life on May 15th at 4pm at the Westbank in Idaho Falls.