Edith Rose Hopkins

Edith Ayrault Rose Hopkins, 95, passed away peacefully on March 31st, 2022, from complications of Covid. Born on October 9, 1926, in Norwalk Connecticut, she was the third of five children of Annette (Moran) and Robert Selden Rose of New Haven, Connecticut. She attended the Foote School there and Chatham Hall in Chatham, Virginia. She was among the first women to graduate from Yale University’s School of Fine Arts. A lifelong artist she affiliated with National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Guggenheim Museum, New York. She taught art at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Delaware and Annapolis High School, Maryland. She was noted for her watercolor portraits, landscapes, whimsical etches of urban scenes, French countryside and coastal scenes from Maine to South Carolina, including her beloved Gibson Island. Represented by Creative Connections, her lighthouse images are found nationally on cookie tins, cross stitches, candles, coasters and paint by number kits. Exhibits of Edie’s work included galleries in Maryland, Delaware, Washington, DC, Virginia and throughout New England. She received many awards and prizes and numerous one person gallery shows. Her works are found in numerous private, corporate and embassy collections. Mrs. Hopkins served as a juried member of the Baltimore watercolor society, Annapolis Watercolor Club and New Hampshire Art Association. Edie’s “home galleries” included the Annapolis Marine Art Gallery and the Torpedo Factory Art League, where she served as a board member. A gifted athlete since childhood in Wilton, Connecticut, she won several consecutive tennis tournaments as a junior in the New Haven area. She was a member of the Dublin Lake Club and reached the women’s singles finals in 1962. She was instrumental in establishing the tennis program at the Chartwell Country Club where she was women’s singles-doubles-mixed champion several times. Edie and her longtime tennis partner, Sophie Wolfe, dominated the women’s doubles circuit in Anne Arundel County through the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. After moving to the District of Columbia in 1973 she remained active in league tennis with Kenwood Country Club and the Middle Atlantic Lawn Tennis Association. She was a regular in the stands at the Washington City Open and the US Open in Forest Hills, New York. Upon her marriage to William Hopkins, she developed a passion for golf in her senior years and the course at Gibson Island. Her prowess in golf resulted in several dozen trophies, many from competitions against much younger opponents. Edie Hopkins played a tough game of poker, loved backgammon and developed such a passion for duplicate bridge that she eventually obtained a Master Player designation. She was active in the Gibson Island Garden Club. She was tenth generation member of the Colonial Dames of America as well as the Junior Leagues in Washington and Annapolis. She was active with the Gibson Island Club until her death. While in New Hampshire, she was member of the Dublin Lake Club; in Severna Park, a member of Chartwell Country Club. In Washington she belonged to the Kenwood Country Club and City Tavern Club in Georgetown. Preceded in death by her husband William Hopkins. She is survived by three sons, Dr. Robert Noble Pyle, Mark Cammann Pyle, Nicholas Ayrault Pyle and daughter Sarah Pyle Moore. Survivors also include nine grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. The family plans a Celebration of Life on April 23rd. In lieu of flowers the family asks you to consider a donation to Hospice of the Chesapeake, plant yellow roses and enjoy her favorite drink, gin and tonic with a slice of fresh lime.

Edith Rose Hopkins

October 9, 1926 - March 31, 2022