UH Hilo retired aquaculture professor Kevin Hopkins to be honored by ALS Network
The award honors individuals or groups making significant strides in fighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
The Aloha State Daily reports Kevin Hopkins, retired aquaculture professor from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo who now serves as member of the nonprofit ALS Network, will be honored with the organization’s 2026 Essey Commitment to Cures Award. The award honors individuals or groups making significant strides in fighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The nonprofit is focused on prevention strategies, treatments, and cures for ALS.
Prof. Hopkins was a dedicated caregiver to his wife, Margarita “Dayday” Hopkins, who died Nov. 6, 2021, after battling ALS for four years. She was 71. The couple was married for 48 years, with three children and 11 grandchildren.
Hopkins met his wife in the Philippines while he was in the U.S. Peace Corps. They were married within five months, which turned into 48 years before she passed.
In 1988, Hopkins arrived at UH Hilo where he became a professor (learn more about his research). Mrs. Hopkins carved out her own career path and was well-known on Hawaiʻi Island for her work in local communities that included agricultural and economic development, advocacy for Filipino recognition and advancement, disaster relief, and political campaigns. She was the recipient of many awards including induction into the Midpac Hall of Fame by the Hawaiʻi Export Nursery Association. She retired from the county in 2012 after 23 years of public service, and was a guest lecturer at UH Hilo until early 2019.
“She knew everyone and was much more influential than me. I was mostly known as Dayday’s husband,” says Prof. Hopkins.
“In 2018, my wife was giving a speech and was having trouble talking,” he says. “So, everyone there thought she had a stroke. We later got some scans done, and it wasn’t that. With ALS, symptoms can either show in extremities — like your arms and legs (Limb-onset) or in your neck and head (Bulbar-onset); speaking can be the first thing they lose. Unfortunately, we still don’t have a good diagnostic test for it — it’s diagnosed by elimination, which is a very frustrating process.”
Prof. Hopkins says he’s glad he came across the ALS Network.
“I’ve been a part of the group now for several years,” says Prof. Hopkins, who serves on its Community Research Committee. “They gave to us without asking anything, and I feel I have an obligation to help other families that are going through the same process,”
He described the main role as reviewing grant applications across the country.
“We’re trying to fill in the gap,” he said. “And we are all people who have experience with ALS, either ourselves or as caregivers.”
Learn more about Kevin and DayDay Hopkins, their amazing life together, and the UH Hilo scholarship established in her honor:
Honoring his late wife Dayday, UH Hilo retired professor Kevin Hopkins establishes ag scholarship
Story by Susan Enright, public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
