Air Force pioneer and former Hopkins House trustee, Ethel Underwood, passed away on July 19.  Underwood served as a Hopkins House trustee from 1993 to 2000. Having served during World War II as an emergency medical technician, she was a strong advocate among the trustees for the organization’s HIV/AIDS prevention, Meals for the Homeless, and senior citizen programs.

Underwood was the first African American woman to achieve the rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves during a time when the military was still racially segregated. [Click here to read article about Underwood: Alexandria Gazette Packet]
 

"She was both a trustee and a personal friend," said J. Glenn Hopkins, President of Hopkins House.  "Ethel could always be depended on for good sense advice, a quick sense of humor, and a great deal of inspiration.  We will miss her a great deal."