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CLASS NOTES
in memoriam | Barbara Styron Tucker
Barbara Styron Tucker, Teacher and Former Headmaster’s Wife
Barbara Styron Tucker of Southern Shores, NC, passed away on October 18, 2021, at the age of 87 after a brief illness. She was born November 5, 1933, to Lula and Edward Styron. She is survived by her husband, John H. Tucker Jr., in a marriage lasting 66 years. She is also survived by two sons, John H. Tucker III and Edward Tripp Tucker, and grandsons Johnathan and Joseph. She is also survived by a sister, three nieces and their families, and a first cousin.
Barbara grew up in Norfolk County, attending Great Bridge High School and Madison College. She and John first came to Norfolk Academy when he was a teacher, coach, and eventually administrator at the school. The couple went to Roanoke, where he served as headmaster of North Cross School, and they returned to campus in 1978 when John succeeded J.B. Massey Jr. as headmaster.
Barbara served as a computer instructor in the Lower School, teaching keyboarding skills to many grateful students, always memorable for her “positive presence,” as Tim Oliver ’97 noted in a tribute to her. Entertaining was one of the many roles of a headmaster’s wife, and Barbara truly loved organizing many gatherings at the headmaster’s house. Faculty and alumni recall her as an amazing hostess.
Barbara and John shared a passion for the arts, and she enthusiastically attended school events and community performances. She was a member of the Society of Arts at the Chrysler Museum. When the couple moved to Southern Shores after John’s retirement as headmaster, they continued supporting the arts through involvement with the Lost Colony play, the Don and Catharine Bryan Cultural Series, and various other cultural and lecture programs, often arranging for NA alumni and faculty to perform.
Barbara was a passionate reader and an equally passionate correspondent. The “email queen of the Outer Banks,” earned her nickname through her dedication to outreach; she would arise at 5:30 a.m. each morning and work for two hours, sending emails to friends and family. Many recipients of those epistles saved them to re-read, because they were lively, uplifting, and often very funny.
She also loved playing mahjong and tennis. For years she and John served as directors for the Youth Fellowship Program at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Norfolk, VA. She was also a member of All Saints Episcopal Church. ◆
in memoriam | Rachel Hopkins
Dr. Rachel Hopkins, Former Lower School Director
Dr. Rachel C. Hopkins was born August 14, 1925, in Statesboro, GA, and died January 8, 2022, in Ft. Walton Beach, FL, after a lengthy battle against Alzheimer’s. The oldest of 10 children, she left the farm after high school to attend Berry College, moving to Savannah afterward. After supporting herself for several years as a bookkeeper, she met her future husband, Gibbes C. Hopkins, Jr. They married in 1951, started a family, and moved to Norfolk in 1960.
Following a passion for education that developed as a child, Dr. Hopkins earned her degree from ODU and began teaching in Norfolk Public Schools. In 1967 she accepted a teaching job at Norfolk Academy, soon moving from teaching to administration, and eventually becoming Head of Lower School, the first woman to hold that position. During that period, she earned a Doctorate in Education from Vanderbilt and developed innovative learning programs for the school. As an educator, she was influential in the community and received the Woman of the Year award from Outstanding Professional Women of Hampton Roads in 1995. She retired after 31 years to care for her ailing husband and remained an active member of Christ & St. Luke’s Church in Norfolk after his death. She volunteered for the Homework Club in Norfolk Public Schools as a tutor in Campostella. She was also proud of the certificate she earned as a Master Gardener and the Hopkins Garden donated to Norfolk Academy in her name.
Dr. Hopkins and her siblings all remained close throughout the years — she enjoyed the large family reunions. She was a loving wife and mother, terrific cook, world traveler, and always led by example through her determination and enthusiasm for the goals she set and the challenges she faced. ◆
in memoriam
Mr. R. Bryan Grinnan III ’52 Mr. John Jay Thiemeyer ’65 Ms. Nancy B. Welton ’65 Mr. Karl K. Wallace III ’75 Dr. S. Neil Morrison ’77 Mrs. Catherine Morgan Stockwell ’85 Ms. Carita Banks ’95
FORMER FACULTY AND STAFF
Mr. Donald Craig Dr. Rachel Hopkins Mrs. Barbara S. Tucker
The fall dance concert, a salute to the Year of Togetherness, was inspired by the lyrics of “One Tribe,” a song by the Black Eyed Peas. As Dance Master Elbert Watson noted in the program, “We are Bulldogs, we are citizens of the world. Human, devoted to the betterment of each other, One Tribe.”
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