Mark D. Hoplin

Mark Hoplin, age 75 of Bemidji, formerly Glenwood and Detroit Lakes died Thursday, October 16, 2025 at Sanford Medical Center in Bemidji. A memorial service celebrating Mark's life will be held on November 15th at 1:00 p.m. at the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Glenwood with Pastor Katrina Hoffman officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Inurnment will be in the Reno Mission Cemetery in rural Lowry. Arrangements are with the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Glenwood. 

Mark Donald Hoplin, the son of Donald and Doris (Robieson) Hoplin, was born on August 24, 1950, in Glenwood, MN.  He graduated from Glenwood High School in 1968, after which he attended Alexandria Technical College.

Mark married Lesley Ogdahl Hoplin on March 15, 1970, in Glenwood.  They briefly lived in Hastings, Barnesville, and Montevideo, before settling in Detroit Lakes, MN for more than 20 years, where they raised their children.  They happily retired back in their hometown of Glenwood.

Just fifteen days after his wedding, like many other young men of his generation, the U.S. Army drafted Mark to serve the nation in Vietnam as a Private First Class in the Americal Division.  This experience profoundly affected him, and he spent the rest of his life with those battle scars.  Mark visited the Vietnam Wall Memorial annually over the years in Washington, D.C., where he spent hours with the “boys” who didn’t make it home.  In 1985, Mark wrote a poem titled “My Wall,” which he left at the foot of the Memorial.  More than 400,000 items have been left at the Wall over the years, which the National Park Service collects and stores.  On the 40th anniversary of the Memorial’s dedication, they curated 40 items collected over the years to share with the public.  Mark’s moving poem was one of those special items.   

Mark spent his entire life in service and as a caregiver to others, first as a Boy Scout and a soldier and then as a nursing home administrator, where he helped take care of the elderly.   He also served his community through his volunteer work as a member of the VFW, American Legion, and Jaycees.  He cared for his aging parents, who moved in with him and Lesley later in life, and he lovingly supported his wife through her decade’s long struggles with a weak heart. 

Mark was a great lover and collector of fine books.  He was self-taught in the art of binding, repairing, and illustrating leather-bound volumes.  Mark loved being on the water, paddling through the lakes of Minnesota, in his handmade blue Seliga canoe.  He was a prize-winning gardener and an avid traveler, having flown more than one million miles on Northwest Airlines.  Most of all, he was a loving father and grandfather, whose stories, good humor, fun projects, adventure, creativity, and warm hospitality endeared him to his friends and family. Mark died peacefully, surrounded by his family on October 16, 2025, at the age of 75. 

He is survived by his wife Lesley; daughter Melissa Hoover of Bemidji, her husband Douglas, and their two children, Nicholas and Elaina; son Eric Hoplin of Oakton, VA, his wife Nicole, and their three boys Eric Jr. (E.J.), Thatcher, and Spencer; and son Nels Hoplin of Edina and his wife Kristen, and their two daughters, Alexandria and Zoe. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Mark cared deeply about preserving the Vietnam Memorial for future generations.  In lieu of flowers, join us, by supporting the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Fund.  https://www.vvmf.org/give-to-vvmf/

To send condolences to the family, visit the funeral home website hoplinfuneralhome.com and click on obituaries.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.