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‘A quiet leader.' Miami Air Force veteran who inspired others dies at 92

‘A quiet leader.' Miami Air Force veteran who inspired others dies at 92

Miami Herald18-07-2025
Leonard Hopkins and his fellow Black military veterans were regulars at a Miami McDonald's every morning except Christmas. They laughed, traded war stories and discussed current events over cups of coffee and orange juice.
One of Hopkins' sons said that even though he was a 'quiet leader,' his presence spoke volumes.
'He would say, when you walk in the room, people want to know who you are,' said son Stephen Hopkins, 65. 'When you leave the room they will want to know who you were.'
Leonard Hopkins, 92, died of prostate cancer on Sunday, July 13 at Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
The Brownsville resident was born at his family's Coconut Grove home on June 17, 1933. His father built the home in which Leonard and his nine siblings grew up. From a young age, Leonard used to go to his Bahamian grandfather's bicycle shop on Charles Avenue.
'He had a thing about mechanics since he was very little,' said Donald Hopkins, 83., one of Leonard's brothers. With a passion for mechanics, Leonard Hopkins went to Lindsey Hopkins Technical School days after he graduated from high school to study aviation. Because of racism, however, Hopkins was turned away and instead joined the U.S. Air Force.
That decision ended up changing his life.
Hopkins served in the Korean War aboard a B-36 airplane that he said had enough fuel to travel around the world in a single trip. The racism Leonard experienced in the United States only made him want to excel more in the Air Force.
'Miami was segregated and there was discrimination when [we] grew up,' Donald Hopkins said. 'It was irritating, but it was also motivating. That was strong motivation for a lot of Black folks in the days when U.S. society was even more discriminatory than now.'
Donald Hopkins remembers the day about 10 years ago when he and Lelo — his nickname for his brother — talked about the nuts and bolts of the airplane.
'I just remember hearing from time to time, 'That was the plane I flew when I was in the Air Force,' ' he said. 'I was in my mid-70s then. I was just learning this because he had never talked about it before. I then arranged and shipped to him a model of the B-36.'
After Donald sent Leonard the model airplane, Leonard Hopkins visited the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Hopkins knew the B-36 on display so well that he corrected a tour guide and ended up telling other visitors about the plane.
When he finished his Air Force service, Hopkins returned to Miami and worked as a mechanic at Greyhound for more than 30 years. Hopkins never seemed to complain about anything. But as a military veteran, one subject made him unhappy.
'One of my sisters said to me that I don't recall seeing Lelo complain about anything other than the political situation in the U.S. right now,' Donald Hopkins said.
Leonard Hopkins' passion for airplanes came only second to his passion for family life. If he wasn't at work or with his family, he was nearby at a friend's house. When dinner was ready, Stephen would go down the street to let his dad know.
'That's the thing that stands out with me as a father and a husband,' Stephen Hopkins said. 'If I'm not at work, I'm at home every night. The furthest he would be was at a best friend's house three houses down. They would sit around and talk about different things like war stories. He was truly a family man.'
Leonard Hopkins is survived by three sons and their wives, 12 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
Range Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Funeral services will be July 23 at the South Florida National Cemetery in western Lake Worth in Palm Beach County.
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PHOTO ESSAY: Many Californians lack safe tap water and don't trust cleanup efforts
PHOTO ESSAY: Many Californians lack safe tap water and don't trust cleanup efforts

Hamilton Spectator

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PHOTO ESSAY: Many Californians lack safe tap water and don't trust cleanup efforts

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'They tell us it's safe to drink, but we don't really trust it,' Galarza said, speaking in Spanish. ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit

How an ex-football player is tackling health issues — and inspiring hope — on the West Side through running
How an ex-football player is tackling health issues — and inspiring hope — on the West Side through running

Chicago Tribune

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  • Chicago Tribune

How an ex-football player is tackling health issues — and inspiring hope — on the West Side through running

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Living on junk food gave me acne, a leaky gut and MS – here's how I got well again
Living on junk food gave me acne, a leaky gut and MS – here's how I got well again

Yahoo

time2 days ago

  • Yahoo

Living on junk food gave me acne, a leaky gut and MS – here's how I got well again

Twenty years ago, fruit and vegetables simply weren't on my radar, and nor was healthy eating. Aged 32, single and in love with my job – a sales role I fuelled with Starbucks coffee, junk food and takeaways – I never once stopped to think about the way it could impact my body. I'd climbed the corporate ladder over the past 12 years, from telesales girl to being head of sales and marketing. I was competitive and thrived off the buzz of the chase. But now I was at the top of my game, I was under huge pressure to hit ambitious targets and keep demanding clients happy. My clients were based all over the country, which meant long drives in my car. I was either out on the road, sometimes for seven to eight hours a day, or socialising, so of course my diet always took a back seat. When I dragged myself out of bed at 7am, normally after a late night in the office, breakfast wasn't even a consideration, but coffee kept me going until lunchtime. I relied heavily on service stations for my lunch, which of course only meant one thing: junk food. I can't count how many McDonald's meal deals or carb-heavy sandwiches I ate. If I wasn't eating a takeaway, such as pizza or a curry, at home in the evening I'd be at a client's dinner, but late nights with lots of booze meant I was in a constant cycle of exhaustion. When I did make it into the office I'd often look around at my tired colleagues and wonder what the strain of stressful jobs were putting on their health too. If I wasn't working on weekends I would be keeping up appearances, socialising with a smile and acting as though I wasn't near to burnout. My mum could see the cracks appearing, though. She'd comment on how moody or tetchy I was when I was around her. I'd go on holiday a lot to de-stress and make up for the intense weeks and months of work. But I never had a good balance – after one holiday I flew into the airport at 4am on a Monday morning and went straight to the office. I also half-heartedly joined a gym, but every month when the gym membership went out of my account, I'd feel guilty that I'd barely made it inside. Slowly though, my lifestyle really took its toll on my physical and mental health. I could feel my clothes start to become tighter and my dress size started to go up. At 5ft 9, my healthy weight is just over nine stone, but back then I was always carrying at least a stone of extra weight. I was always exhausted too and started to get brain fog. At one point I was looking after 250 accounts, and I was in a constant state of anxiety that I would miss a meeting or get something wrong. It was at this time, coupled with extreme fatigue, that I noticed the first symptoms of multiple sclerosis – though I didn't know then that's what they were. MS is a chronic autoimmune disease where your immune system mistakenly attacks the protective covering of nerve fibers, impacting brain and spinal function. One day my little finger felt numb, with a pins-and-needles sensation. It went away quickly but it kept coming back, and sometimes my whole hand would go numb. I was worried enough to mention it to a chiropractor friend, who said it could be a symptom of MS. But I was too busy even to entertain the idea and I quickly dismissed it. Then, a couple of months later I had my first wobble. I didn't fall over but felt really unstable on my feet, something which happened a few times over six months. About half a year later a black dot appeared in my vision line through my left eye and wouldn't go away. I went to the hospital and a specialist diagnosed me with optic neuritis – inflammation of the cranial nerve. Thankfully, they said the symptoms, with some rest, would go away fairly quickly, but I wasn't expecting them to tell me what the condition meant for my long-term health. They told me that optic neuritis is the precursor to a diagnosis of MS. As they started to explain all the other symptoms I could expect – numbness in my hands and feet, fatigue and unsteadiness on my feet – a hot flush came over me, and I realised all the symptoms were linked: it was my body's way of telling me something was wrong. After a scan, they also found lesions on the brain, which is another sign of MS, and coupled with my other symptoms, they diagnosed me with the disease. The reality of my diagnosis hit me hard. I completely lost my appetite for a few days as I was so scared about my symptoms getting worse. But the shock of my diagnosis manifested into denial, and for a couple of months, I pushed it to the back of my mind, pretending it wasn't my reality. However, a Google search, when I was at my lowest, saved me. I was interested to know how my diet and stress affected my diagnosis, and sure enough, nutritionists were just starting to look at the connection between gut health, inflammation and chronic illness. I found early studies and nutritionists showing that a high-stress lifestyle and poor diet could lead to a leaky gut and, for some, trigger an autoimmune response. A leaky gut happens when a poor diet, stress or lack of sleep enables cracks or holes to form in the gut lining. This means toxins and bacteria can penetrate the tissues below, causing inflammation and, in some cases, leading to chronic illnesses including MS. A 'leaky gut', or increased intestinal permeability, is still not recognised by mainstream medicine – but my diagnosis coupled with other symptoms such as fatigue and acne suggested that I had the condition. The websites I looked at said I should concentrate on cutting out anything that could cause inflammation, such as foods high in sugar, saturated fats and processed meats. I started looking at food labels and slowly educating myself on what foods were good for my body. I didn't make any drastic diet changes to start with, I just tried to add as much fruit and vegetables as possible – such as leafy greens, berries and bananas. Then gradually, over a few months, I made other changes – instead of just coffee for breakfast I started to have eggs or oats, then for lunch and dinner I realised protein made me feel fuller, while fresh vegetables and salad, as well as healthy fats such as avocado and nuts, were easier on my gut. If I wanted a snack, instead of crisps and chocolate, I would have crudités and hummus or some yogurt. At 37, I even went plant-based for six years. A couple of years later, when I started feeling healthier and my diet was on track, I met my husband. Luckily, he's into eating healthily too, and even went on a plant-based diet with me. We married in 2017, and still encourage each other to eat healthily – eating colourful salads or dishes full of vegetables. I found that running really helped with my stress levels, and I even went on to run the London marathon the year I turned 50. The changes in my diet and stress levels showed up in my body – I lost weight, my skin improved, and my MS symptoms, including the eye inflammation, disappeared. When it comes to my diet, I live by the 90/10 rule – if I have 10 per cent of unhealthy foods, I know I need to have 90 per cent of gut-friendly healthy foods. I still have the odd alcoholic drink, but I pick ones which are low in sugar, such as champagne. When it comes to eating out at restaurants, I choose the healthiest thing on the menu, such as a salad with protein. I also avoid over-processed foods and anything with too much sugar in it. Luckily, I didn't need any medication. Instead, I found that cutting out inflammatory foods, healing my gut and lowering my stress levels were the most important things my body needed. I'm now 53 and have never felt more healthy. In my 40s, my eye flicker returned but when I went to the GP, they suggested I rest and keep up my healthy lifestyle. Since then, I haven't had another symptom in 10 years and my MS is classed as inactive. I'm also working as a registered health coach, helping others take control of their health in the same way as I did. I can't believe I used to think junk food would fuel me, and never connected my health problems to my diet. I now live by the saying 'food is either fighting disease or feeding it' – for years, I was feeding it. I'm just so glad that I took action with my diet when I did, and fixed my leaky gut with food which nourishes my body. As told to Sarah Finley Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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