Paul Edward Zopf Jr.

Zopf—Paul Edward Zopf Jr., 94, on October 9, 2025, after a brief illness, in Greensboro, N.C. Paul was born on July 9, 1931, the first son of Paul E. Zopf Sr. and Hilda E. (Russell) Zopf in Bridgeport, Conn. Paul graduated from Warren Harding High School in 1949 and earned a bachelor’s degree in horticulture and botany from the University of Connecticut and a master’s and doctorate degree from the University of Florida in 1955.

Paul married Evelyn Montgomery Zopf in 1956. The couple moved to Greensboro, where Paul joined the faculty of Guilford College’s Sociology and Anthropology Department in 1959. Their son, Eric Paul Zopf, was born in 1962. Paul Joined New Garden Meeting in Greensboro in 1968, where, among other things, he was a longtime member of the Brotherhood Class.

Paul was a gentle, quiet man and a scholar who supported his students. He rose through the academic ranks at Guilford, eventually becoming a full professor and was awarded the Charles A. Dana Professor title. He served as chair of the department for 13 years, as well as a transitional associate academic dean. In 1978, he received the college’s Teaching Excellence Award. He retired in 1993, when he was named chief marshal of Guilford College. He was a productive researcher and writer, authoring or coauthoring 14 books.

Quaker values informed much of Paul’s research, writing, and community service. He believed in equality and justice for all. He was a consultant to the Greensboro Commission on the Status of Women, to which he contributed a comprehensive demographic profile of women in the city and another profile of the income and poverty of the city’s women. He believed that social science without social action falls short of its potential and that social action without social science is often misguided and ineffective. He was reinforced in this belief by his membership in several professional societies, including the American Sociological Association, the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, the Southern Sociological Society, and the Population Reference Bureau.

Paul was a skilled woodworker whose home is filled with his furniture (Hepplewhite and Queen Anne), restorations, and architectural detail, much of it created with his father’s hand tools out of wood discarded from Guilford College’s remodeled buildings. He was an avid organic gardener, born of his farm background, whose flowers and vegetables grew next to his home for all to enjoy. He raised and preserved large amounts of food each summer. He also loved working and playing with words and delivered many one-line jokes.

One of Paul’s most appreciated gifts was his ministry of letter writing. The many cards he mailed included hand-written notes of encouragement, celebration, sympathy, remembrances, and much affection over the 65 years he enhanced the Guilford, New Garden Meeting, and wider Greensboro communities.

Paul was predeceased by his wife of 60 years, Evelyn Zopf, in 2016; his brother, Robert Zopf; as well as his parents and his immigrant maternal grandparents, Henry and Wilhelmina Russell.

He is survived by his son, Eric Paul Zopf (Carol Baird); one sister, Evelyn Zopf Hahner; one sister-in-law, Maxine Zopf; and four nieces and nephews.