Elizabeth Hopper
Elizabeth Hopper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 8, 1883 Hume, Allegheny County, New York, USA |
| Died | May 3, 1967 Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal |
Elizabeth G. Hopper (April 8, 1883 - May 3, 1967) was an American Bahá’í who was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for being among the earliest pioneers to the Madeira Islands.
Biography[edit]
Hopper was born in Hume, New York, in 1883. She enrolled in Cornell University and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree and then became a librarian ultimately becoming a senior librarian for a United States international agency.[1]
At some point Hopper became a Bahá’í and she settled in Washington, D.C., where she was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly serving on the body for over two decades. She often served as secretary and was also a member of several local and national Bahá’í committees dedicating to teaching and publishing.[1]
In 1952 Hopper retired from her professional responsibilities however in 1953 when the Ten Year Crusade was launched she volunteered to pioneer to the Madeira Islands to establish a Bahá’í community selling her apartment in Washington, D.C., by September 1953. She traveled to Madeira alongside fellow pioneer Ada Schott arriving in Funchal on September 20, 1953.[1]
Initially Hopper and Schott's experiences were positive as they were able to make friends and establish positive relations with government officials. In 1956 three people declared in Funchal however their visas expired and they had to briefly return to the United States. Due to personal circumstances Schott was unable to return to Madeira leaving Hopper the sole pioneer.[1]
Despite her old age Hopper remained in Funchal supported by several visits from Bahá’ís and correspondence to the United States Africa Teaching Committee and in 1961 she was joined by another pioneer, Joseph Kubik, and a Bahá’í family from the Canary Islands however they departed after only a few months.[2] In 1963 she was able to attend the First Bahá’í World Congress at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, and afterwards she went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land.[1]
In 1963 some of Hopper's friends advised her to returned to the United States but she declined to do so. In 1964 Isabel Horton pioneered to Madeira and remained for the rest of Hopper's life which reassured her as she wanted someone to inherit her collection of Bahá’í literature and archival material. She passed away in 1967 and the Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after her passing:
PLEASE ASSURE FRIENDS PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS SOUL ELIZABETH HOPPER KNIGHT OF BAHAULLAH OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE DEVOTION STEADFASTNESS[2]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 311. View as PDF.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 313. View as PDF.
