Obituary of Robert Oppelt

Services will be Saturday, Sept. 3rd at 11:00 am for Robert "Bob" Oppelt who passed away on August 31st, he was 84 years old. Bob was born and raised in New Jersey. In 1951 he and two buddies enlisted in the Navy. Bob served on the aircraft carrier USS Leyte. He was onboard the ship in Oct. 1953 when a large explosion to the ship's port catapult machinery room occurred. The resulting fire from the explosion took over 4 hours to extinguish and led to the death of 37 sailors. During his time in the Navy Bob met the love of his life, Elizabeth Carney in Boston, MA. Two weeks after his discharge from the Navy in 1954, Bob and Elizabeth were married. A year after their marriage Bob and Elizabeth moved to Southern California, where he worked for over 31 years for Pacific Bell as a telecommunication supervisor. After his retirement they moved to the Santa Cruz area. Not able to settle into the leisure life of retirement Bob started his company, Op-Tel, designing and installing telecommunications equipment. Bob was a lifelong SF Giants fan. His life for the team pre-dated their 1959 move to the west coast. Bob passion for the team began at the old Polo Grounds in New York; one of his greatest joys was seeing them capture 3 World Championships this decade. Bob coached his children's baseball and softball teams; producing winning teams, an appreciation for the game and sportsmanship for the kids he coached. Bob is remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend. Always there to help others, never a bad thing to say about anyone, Bob was an old fashion "Good Guy". Bob is survived by his wife of 61 years Elizabeth, son Stephen (fiancée Janice Joy) and daughters Janice Visel and Linda Oppelt-Perez (Miguel). He is also survived by his four grandchildren; Robert, Bernie, Lindsey and Madeline and many friends. Visitation for family and friends will be held Friday, Sept. 2nd, 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Santa Cruz Memorial. Funeral Services will be on Saturday, Sept. 3rd at 11:00 am, Santa Cruz Memorial Mission Chapel, 1927 Ocean St., Santa Cruz.