Timely Notices
August 20 , 2008
CONFEDERATE WIDOW PASSES AWAY
Maudie Cecilia Hopkins of Lexa, Arkansas, one of the last known Confederate widows, died August 17, 2008, at 3:10 p.m. at the Helena Medical Center in Helena, Arkansas. She would have turned 94 in December.
Mrs. Hopkins' story first came to light in a Washington Times exclusive on June 12, 2004. William Cantrell, an aging Confederate veteran who had served in the 7th Virginia Infantry, originally hired 19-year-old Maudie Hopkins to cook for him and do his laundry. As time passed and he became more feeble, he asked her to move in with him. When she declined for reasons of propriety, he suggested that they marry, saying he would deed his house and lot to her if she would. They were married in August 1934 in Baxter County, Arkansas, when he was 86. Their married life continued for several years until he died.
Mrs. Hopkins, a charming lady with sparkling eyes, always described Mr. Cantrell as "a good man, a nice man, a respectable person. He was good to me and I was good to him. I treated him just like a baby." Money was tight, she used to say. "We had a good life, but it was hard. He got a veteran's pension. Sometimes it was twenty-five dollars a month; sometimes it just came every two or three months. That made life hard. But we were happy."
Mrs. Hopkins accepted her new-found fame gradually and with some reticence. It was a story she had never shared with her children, but when she learned others were interested in this living link to history, she came to enjoy being interviewed and photographed by journalists from as far away as England.
She lived alone until three years ago, when she moved to an assisted living facility in Arkansas and then, as she further declined, into a full care facility. She stayed relatively alert, talking with her family members and friends, although in the last few months she became less and less able to converse. She was a member of David O.Dodd Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
Memorials may be made to Lexa Baptist Church, 213 Cedar Street, Lexa, AR 72355. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to Mrs. Hopkins' daughters (Mrs. Robert Byrd, 478 Philips 213 RD, W. Helena, AR 72390; Mrs. Fred Chamness, 9649 Shannon Lane, Manassas, VA 20110).
April 21, 2008
NEW ENGRAVED AND NON-ENGRAVED INSIGNIA ORDER FORMS AVAILABLE ONLINE
The Vice President General has completed her revision of the engraved and non-engraved insignia order forms and has made them available on line. You may download a PDF form that must be printed out and filled in by hand or typewriter or a Microsoft Word™ document that can be saved to your hard drive, filled in on the computer, and printed out. The forms are posted at http://hqudc.org/info/.
March 11, 2008
2007 GENERAL BYLAWS AVAILABLE ON CD OR VIA E-MAIL
The 2007 General Bylaws are now available on CD or via e-mail in PDF format.
If you made a donation to the Memorial Building Endowment Fund last year for the previous Bylaws CD, please return that CD to Bylaws Committee Chairman Gail Robinson at 579 Quicksilver Trail, Fort Mill, SC 29708-6507, and an updated version will be sent to you in exchange. If you prefer, you may have the 2007 Bylaws e-mailed to you as a PDF attachment.
Those who have not made a $10.00 donation may do so now. Please make your check payable to the Treasurer General UDC, write “Memorial Building Endowment Fund” on the memo line, and mail it to the General Chairman of the Bylaws Committee at the address given above. Be sure to indicate whether you want the CD or the e-mail version (if the latter, be sure to provide your e-mail address).
A late editorial change prevented the planned distribution of the CDs at Spring Board. The Committee extends its sincerest apologies for the delay.
Gail S. Robinson
General Chairman of the Bylaws Committee
gjsrobin@aol.com
LEE-DAVIS BICENTENNIAL PIN AVAILABLE
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The General Organization is pleased to announce that the Lee-Davis Bicentennial commemorative pin is now available. The cost is $30.00. Orders must be processed through your Chapter and Division Vice Presidents. The order form is available for download: Microsoft Word document | PDF file Please note the placement of the pin on the official ribbon:
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GENERAL ORGANIZATION TO ESTABLISH SCHOLARSHIP IN MEMORY OF EX-HISTORIAN GENERAL
| The General Organization has established a scholarship in honor of Vicki K. Heilig, Ex-Historian General (2002-2004) and long-time District of Columbia Division President, who passed away on Wednesday, May 2, 2007, in Salisbury, N.C. The scholarship will be for a graduate student in Confederate studies at Virginia Polytechnic and State University in Blacksburg, Va. Contributions for the scholarship fund may be sent to the United Daughters of the Confederacy Business Office, 328 N. Boulevard, Richmond, VA 23220-4009 (make checks payable to Treasurer General UDC and be sure to indicate the scholarship on the memo line of your check). |
 Vicki Kaye Heilig 1946-2007 |
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