Mary Teresa ‘Terry’ (Hoppe) Larson of Newport, Arkansas, departed this life on Tuesday, April 21, 2025, at her home. She was 74 years young and always filled her life and the lives of those she knew and loved with joy.
Terry was born on December 7, 1950, in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Edward, Sr., and Teresa (Roach) Hoppe.
Miss Terry Hoppe and Mr. John Robert “Jack” Larson met in Memphis, Tennessee, while attending the University of Memphis. The couple married on May 29, 1971, and began their life together in Chicago. Over the years, Terry and Jack made homes in Memphis, Tennessee, Jefferson City and St. Louis, Missouri, and Texas, making friends that lasted a lifetime wherever they made their home. Ultimately, in 1987, they made their forever home in Newport, Arkansas. Terry and Jack, along with their three children, quickly became active and loved members of the community.
Terry possessed a genuine, kind, and loving spirit. Her infectious smile and laugh and her outgoing nature ensured that everyone around her had a great time and that she never met a stranger.
Terry’s greatest love in life was her family; she especially cherished her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Terry loved to be out and about visiting with family, friends, and anyone she might encounter, always making new friends. She lived by the old adage, “Make new friends, but keep the old, for one is silver and the other gold.”
Sunday night family dinners and weekly trips to Fathead Pizza were the highlight of her week. Terry loved the beach and especially treasured the times she spent there with her family.
She was a devoted member of St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church in Newport.
Terry was preceded in death by her husband of 42 years, John Robert “Jack” Larson on June 22, 2013; one son, John Reynolds Larson on April 16, 2013; two sisters, Peggy Milford on April 13, 2001 and Eileen “Beany” Hoppe on June 18, 2014; and her parents.
Terry is survived by one son, Daniel Joseph “Dan” Larson of Newport; one daughter, Laura Larson King and her husband, Brian, of Swifton; and three grandchildren, Olivia Grace Larson, Will King, and Andrew King. She is also survived by three brothers, Edward Hoppe Jr. and his wife, Celeste, of Little Rock—Celeste was not only her sister-in-law but one of Terry’s caregivers during the final months of her life and her best and most cherished friend since they were Freshmen at Bishop-Byrne High School in Memphis, Tennessee—Daniel Hoppe and Thomas Hoppe and wife, Ginger, all of Newport; one sister, Joan Hoppe-Bauer of St. Louis, Missouri; several nieces and nephews, a special friend, Cindy Sides, who devotedly cared for her in recent months, and a lifetime of friends.
The Larson family will hold a family-directed Mass at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church in Newport on Saturday, May 24, 2025, at 8:00 a.m.
Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105 or online at stjude.org.
Arrangements by Jackson’s Newport Funeral Home.
