by Cesca Janece Waterfield
After three cancer diagnoses in fewer than ten years, Richmond native Josi Hopkins has gone through years of chemotherapy. Refusing self-pity, she maintains a positive mental attitude and a regimen of self-care. Before Christmas, her doctor pronounced her cancer-free. Today she’s facing the New Year ready to encourage other people through their challenges. “We have a divine purpose, and part of that purpose is to give guidance to others,” she says. “I know I’m in a position to do more.”
Making Strides in Richmond
As a girl growing up in Whitcomb Court, Josi was an active and inquisitive natural leader. Her Vice Principal at Mosby Middle School recognized the young girl’s promise and when Josi was 12, he recommended her for a scholarship to prep school in Massachusetts. Soon after, she left everything she knew to attend boarding school. Five years later, she entered Rhode Island’s Brown University. She loved college and New England, but often missed home. After her father suffered a leg amputation, she returned to Richmond, got married and found a job, eventually working as a busy financial executive.
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