Obituary of Alan Rodney Hopkinson

ALAN RODNEY HOPKINSON (January 29, 1942 - January 1, 2015) Alan Rodney Hopkinson, 72, son of the late Merlin Hopkinson and the late Betty Bailey, died unexpectedly and in his sleep on January 1st, 2015, at home in Summerland, Santa Barbara. Born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, in 1942, Alan was one of three brothers. He was a brilliant boy, excelled scholastically, and won a scholarship to Merton College, Oxford University, where he obtained an M.A. in Chemistry. He was also active as a reservist in the Royal Artillery of the Territorial Army. He then became a Chartered Accountant, initially working as an Articled Clerk at Deloitte. An avid learner with strong ambition and an extraordinary capacity to work, Alan then obtained an MBA from Cranfield School of Management and was awarded three scholarships to Harvard Business School, the Wharton School of Economics, and Stanford Business School amongst which he chose the last and there commenced a PhD program in 1969. Deciding to leave Stanford after one year, Alan accepted a position with Shell, London. He subsequently started his own furniture, packing and moving, and storage companies in London. He also acted in several plays with local theater companies. Returning to the USA in 1974, Alan had a long and varied career as a certified public accountant (CPA), partner, officer/director, entrepreneur, and forensic and investigative accountant, working with such firms as International Video Corporation, BDO Seidman, TSR International, Gateway, amongst others. Fascinated by many fields, Alan also studied as a graduate student at large at Stanford Medical School in 1977-1979 and then became an attorney, being admitted to the State Bar of California in 2000. He started his own forensic and investigative accounting firm Accounting for the Law in 1994 and was known by his clients and colleagues for his dedication, warmth, and genius capacity to absorb and recall mammoth amounts of detail. This served him well in many extremely complex cases involving fraud, embezzlement, or family law for which he provided forensic accounting skills and litigation support. Alan's life energy, capacity to work, and will power were extraordinary. Alan was a voracious reader, and he loved dogs (he had many beloved dogs over his lifetime), home cooked food, World War II history, whisky, wine, walks in Nature (particularly the Yorkshire moors), women, and song. Every morning, he completed a crossword puzzle, several Sudoku, and other word and number puzzles. A lifelong lover of the performing arts, he enjoyed attending Santa Barbara Symphony performances with his wife and friends. Alan is survived by his beloved wife of nearly 35 years Anne, as well as her four children Kim, Robin (Catherine), Tony (Denise), Kendal (Greg), and eight grandchildren; by his first wife Jenny and their three children Peter (Wendy), Belinda, Miranda (Dan), and three grandchildren; and by son Paul (Farya) and granddaughter. He will be greatly missed. Friends are invited to join the family at a memorial service that will be held on January 17th at 1pm at All Saints by the Sea, Santa Barbara. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Alan's memory to All Saints by the Sea, or to Merton College, Oxford University. Letters of condolences may be sent to P.O. Box 5505, Santa Barbara, CA 93150. Arrangements entrusted to McDermott-Crockett Mortuary