Joseph James Hopko died peacefully on December 30, 2023 of complications following surgery for colon cancer and multiple chronic illnesses. He was born at the original Lankenau Hospital in Philadelphia on January 25, 1947 to Michael and Agnes (nee Clarke) Hopko. Joseph studied at the St. Clement's Parish School, the West Catholic High School for Boys, and the Philadelphia General Hospital School of Nursing prior to his Army service in Vietnam.

After active duty, Joseph worked in the Emergency Department at Misericordia Hospital and then for the Pennsylvania State Department of Health while he studied nursing and health administration at the University of Pennsylvania and Stockton State University. He continued his education to earn a Master's in Health Care Administration at St. Joseph's University. He then worked for 31 years in the US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid as a surveyor of healthcare facilities, from which he retired in 2018. He continued his military service as an officer in the Army Reserve in the 348th General Hospital out of Folsom, PA. until his retirement in 1993 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, the honor society of nursing.

Joseph and his wife Nancy (nee Sharts) met through their Army Reserve service. They married in 1992, and Joe became the stepfather to Nancy's son Carl Engel. He was active in Bryn Mawr BSA Troop 19 as a troop committee member and quartermaster for all of Carl's years in scouting. His hobbies included trains and trolleys, both life- and model-sized, as well as building computers, and electronics. He enjoyed travel and was proud to have visited all 50 states and approximately 30 countries. He was actively involved in the Catholic parishes at Philadelphia General Hospital, Sts. Peter and Paul in Norristown, and since 1992, St. Thomas of Villanova, where he served on the Parish Stewardship Committee and for over 20 years as an usher. For many years he attended the annual men's retreat at the Marianist Family Retreat Center in Cape May NJ.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his older brother Michael, and he is survived by his beloved wife Nancy, his stepson Carl, Carl's wife Amanda Jaskowak, and numerous loving cousins.

Relatives and friends are invited on Saturday April 13th, Visitation from 9:30 to 10:30 AM with Funeral Mass at 10:30 AM at St Thomas of Villanova Church on the University Campus, 800 Lancaster Ave., Villanova, PA.  Interment will be held at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.

Memorial gifts may be made to the White Horse Village Foundation , 535 Gradyville Road, Newtown Square PA 19073, indicating Resident Reserve Fund on the memo line.