Hailey Marie Hopkins was born in Cape May County, NJ on May 14, 2001 to Heather (Kates) Walter and Robert Hopkins. When she was 4 years old, she moved to Philadelphia, PA and later to Gilbertsville, PA.
In her immediate family, she is survived by her mother Heather, stepfather Chuck, sister Lilly, and grandmother Donna. She also has three half-sisters, one half-brother, one stepbrother, and six stepsisters who she loved dearly. Hailey also has many aunts,
uncles, and cousins who she grew up with and cherished. She was preceded in death by her father Robert.
Hailey graduated from Boyertown High School in 2019 and pursued some college courses but had not yet finished. Her aspirations were to be a lawyer. She enjoyed music and making art through painting and writing as well as fishing, kayaking and swimming at her family’s lake house in Union Dale, PA. She was always the first one in the lake and the last one to leave. A lover of all animals, Hailey spent most of her childhood horseback riding and she adored her horses Flash (who preceded her in death) and Parker as well as her cat Percy.
Sadly, Hailey succumbed to addiction, passing away unexpectantly on September 16, 2024 around 3:30PM. She battled drug and mental health issues for more than five years. Along the way she made many mistakes, sometimes alienating the people who loved her the most but she was always the hardest on herself. Hailey struggled to give herself the love and acceptance that she needed and deserved, which made it hard for
her to accept love and acceptance from anyone else, making her journey to adulthood rocky and devastating at times. Hailey numbed her pain and inner struggles with narcotics. And narcotics not only stole her from us in the end, but had slowly eroded her away from those who loved her dearly. Valiantly, she tried to rally several times during the past two years, recently achieving 60 days sober, and she always expressed the hope to gain the will to succeed.
Despite her inner struggles, Hailey was a beautiful person inside and out who always led with her heart. She was a fierce friend and a loyal daughter. Throughout her life, she defended the underdog and loved her family and friends no matter what, through thick and thin. Our only hope is that her spirit is now at peace and she can finally feel the love that surrounds her. She will forever be missed and cherished.
