SPENCER, SD – It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Robert Lee Hopper who died in his home in Spencer, SD on Saturday, November 29th, 2025. Robert was born on December 25th, 1949, in Deadwood, SD, but lived most of his childhood in Denver, CO. He married Janice Diane Keller in 1971 and raised his oldest three children in Lead, SD before settling in Pierre, SD upon remarriage in 1988. Bob lived in Pierre with his wife Michelle and was blessed with three younger children who he and Michelle raised with love and purpose alongside his older children. In 2022, Bob retired to Spencer with Michelle to be closer to his adult children and grandchildren where they lived out his life surrounded by those he loved.
Bob was articulate and passionate in everything he did and left a lasting impression on everyone that knew him. He explored many trades and occupations before attending Black Hills State College and later University of Minnesota law school in his 30s. Bob served as labor compliance officer for SD Dept. of Transportation for 15 years before running a successful custom cabinet business in his semi-retirement. He was very active in his community, ascending to leadership with Pierre Masonic Lodge for several years and breathing life into the young men’s fraternity DeMolay along the way as their “Chapter Dad”. He and his family were also very active in fellowship with Community Bible Church of Pierre. He found great joy and comfort in his faith and was pleased to see his family involved in mission trips and other church functions.
Bob was a self-driven family man and took pride in his many hobbies, avocations, and involvements. As a young man he was a recreational pilot and later rediscovered his love of flight in his early 60s. He was an avid downhill skier in his youth and served as ski patrol and instructor at Breckenridge, CO as a young adult. He was an accomplished outdoorsman throughout his life and always looked forward to the next hunting or fishing trip with his three sons, daughter, and close friends. He was a lifelong ham radio operator (WB0NNI was his call), and he was forever tooling on radios, amplifiers, and antennas to get the best signal to share the magic with his daughters and sons. He explored horse tending and chicken rearing with Michelle and his two youngest daughters for some years, he dabbled with competitive shooting, he had a love for fine woodwork and craftsmanship, he was a student of philosophy and politics, he had a strong appreciation for art and antiquity, he enjoyed painting and photography, and he had a lifelong passion for music that he shared with bandmates in his youth and many of his children throughout his life.
Bob is survived by his loving wife Michelle Mae Hopper(Russell), his younger sister Christine Smith(Walter), his six children Anna R. Kocur(Jeremy), Charles L. Hopper(Rebecca), Lennard R. Hopper(Taaron), Robert W. Hopper, Laura R. Bresher(Cade), and Elizabeth B. Hopper, sixteen grandchildren, and one great grandchild.
Bob is preceded in death by his mother and best friend Rosemary Laura Ross(Peterson), his father Robert Elmo Hopper, his beloved uncle Lee Peterson, his aunt Margaret Allen(Peterson), and his dear friend Tom Harmon of Pierre.
We will pay our respects to Bob on Saturday, December 6, at Community Bible Church in Pierre, SD at 2:00 PM.
