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Memorial services for local attorney and San Gabriel Valley/Pasadena Journal Publisher Joe Hopkins are scheduled for this Saturday, Nov. 11.
A viewing is scheduled for 10 a.m. at First AME Church, 1700 N. Raymond Ave. Services will be held immediately after at 10:45 a.m., according to his obituary.
The repass will also be held at the church.
Hopkins died on Oct. 31. He was 82.
According to the Sacramento Observer, Hopkins was born in Altus, Oklahoma. He relocated to California in 1967, settling in Altadena in 1969.
He earned his Juris Doctorate from Glendale University College of Law and in 1982 he began his legal practice which he later moved to Pasadena in 1986.
But he may have his biggest mark in the community in 1989 when he and his wife Ruthie launched the Journal in 1989.
The Journal was a stalwart not just in the Black community, but in the entire City, and often addressed serious issues missing from the areas other print newspapers, including hiring practices, lack of diversity, and racism in city governments, city departments, and law enforcement.
In 2003, Hopkins’ book “I Will Not Apologize: Uncompromising Solutions to Black America’s Dilemma in the 21st Century” was published.
According to his obituary, Joe graduated from Bakersfield High School and pursued a career as a barber and owned his own barber shop at the age of 20 with his brother Albert Jr.
He first met Ruthie when he was just six years old, and reconnected when he was 13 in Sunday school.
The couple wed on June 30th, 1962, after a three-month courtship.
In 1966, Joe ran for the Kern County School Board, becoming “the Black candidate” and inspired by the guidance of Kern County’s only Black lawyer, Gabe Solomon. This experience sparked Joe’s interest in law, leading him to attend Pepperdine University and later Glendale University College of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctorate Degree.
He also worked as an inner-city program developer for the Girl Scouts of America, a Collector for the IRS, an Affirmative Action Officer at Hughes Aircraft, and a Purchasing Officer at Xerox.
In 1982, Joe established his own general law practice in Los Angeles, focusing on criminal defense, wrongful termination, workplace discrimination, and police misconduct cases.
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