Retired Chief James L. Hopper ran the Richland Police Department and two businesses at the same time for decades and belonged to numerous professional and fraternal organization, yet, his children said, he still found time to be a good husband and father.

"When he came home, he was dead tired," said his daughter, Diana Hufnagle, of Parker Township, "but he still had time for his family on weekends." There were outings to farms where his four children could see horses or they'd go to a camp at Sugar Lake near Franklin in Crawford County, where the family fished or trapped turtles.

"I never would have the go he had," added Mr. Hopper's son, Thomas, of Richland. "Up until three years ago he would be at work every morning before I got there."

Mr. Hopper died Thursday of emphysema. A Marine Corps veteran who served in the South Pacific during World War II, he was 81.

He retired in 1985 from the police department after 35 years of service, the last six as chief. But during that tenure he also operated his T&J Hopper Supplies, a ready-mix concrete operation in Richland, and Jim's Antiques, a used furniture store on Route 8 in Richland.

He also was a one-man community chest.

"He was like the caretaker of the community. If someone needed a fishing rod or a job, he'd take them under his wing," Mrs. Hufnagle said.

"He loved the children in the community," Thomas Hopper added. "If one needed an odd job, he always had them doing stuff."

"It's been interesting to see [at the funeral home], all the lives he touched, not just the big guy from the bank but ... a vast array of people," Mrs. Hufnagle said.

After retiring from the police department, Mr. Hopper continued with his businesses, and he would have marked 50 years with T&J Hopper next month, his son said. The furniture business is about 35 years old. His son runs the businesses now.

Organizations he belonged to included the Richland Township Volunteer Fire Department, the Odd Fellows, Bakerstown American Legion Post 548 and the Mars Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Besides his son and daughter, Mr. Hopper is survived by his wife of 56 years, Sarah Marie; daughters Deborah A. Lokay of Richland and Joy Tsounos of Verona; a brother, William Hopper of Fort Pierce, Fla; and sisters Helen Fugh of Mansfield, Tioga County, and Wilma Nelson of Richland.

A funeral service will be held at 11 this morning in Bakerstown Methodist Church.

Contributions may be made to Hosanna Industries, 109 Rinard Lane, Rochester, PA 15074 or Good Samaritan Hospice, 3500 Brooktree Road, Suite No. 320, Wexford, PA 15090.