Gordon Bopp Obituary

Gordon passed away quickly from a heart attack on February 2, 2025. Prior to his passing he had been hospitalized with failing kidneys and a severe infection. The prospect for good health was grim, however, he was so proud that he had reached the age of 90, and fortunately, with help of family and friends, had celebrated the big event last October.

He was born in Vancouver, Canada and moved to the States as a teenager. He attended high school in a small coal mining town in Montana - Colstrip - where he graduated Valedictorian.

From there, Gordon enlisted in the Navy and spent three years on a destroyer. After the Navy he enrolled in a chemical engineering program at the University of Colorado where he graduated with that degree and then went on to also get his Masters. During that time, he married his high school sweetheart and he and Anna Marie (better known as Nan) made their first home in Vet's Ville. Two little girls were born in Boulder, Colorado - Teresa Lee (Terri) and Martha Ann just one year apart.

From there with the help of a scholarship, the little family moved to California where Gordon attended Stanford and worked on his Doctorate. During those years, a third little girl was born, Alison Marie. Those were hard, dedicated years and so upon completion the family welcomed Moscow, Idaho where Gordon taught at the University and later became Department Chair. He was also recognized as starting the first Faculty Council at the U of I, and most recently was accepted into the Academy of Engineers.

While in Moscow a fourth little girl came along, Paula Christine, and shortly thereafter the family moved to Morris, Minnesota where Dr. Bopp became the first Dean of the Liberal Arts branch campus of the University of Minnesota. It was there that Gordon learned to fly small aircraft since traveling in and out of Minneapolis to attend meetings was so time consuming. It was also there that Dr. Bopp established the Morris swim team known as the Tiger Sharks, and so every day after work he coached the little team. As the team grew so did their skill level and it wasn't long before they were holding their own in state-wide swim meets. Years later, and a tribute to how diligently the team worked, one of the Tiger Shark swimmers made it to the Olympics.

Most of Dr. Bopp's career was spent at universities as an administrator - including a little more than a decade in New Mexico - except for a short stay as the first Executive Director of SIRTI (Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute) before being hired by Westinghouse in Richland, Washington to head up the Environmental Institute. This appointment turned out to be the end of the line for two major reasons; Westinghouse lost their federal contract at about the same time that Gordon had a quadruple bypass. At that point in time, he thought it best to retire, especially since he had a great grandson who he wanted to help raise. Gordon was a high-energy, competitive, caring person and he went strong in his retirement years.

As a Rotarian he loved selling annual duck tickets, and he also enjoyed serving annually on their scholarship committee. During those years he also served as president for the Columbia Basin College Foundation, as well as the Tri-Cities Residential Services Board. Gordon was Washington state president for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) for several terms where he also served on the Public Policy committee where NAMI had several legislative successes. And during those retirement years he also found time to travel to New Mexico State University where he judged student projects for the International Environmental Design Contest. Locally he loved to help out in that same capacity for the Lewis & Clark elementary school science fair where his wife, Nan, taught for many years.

At his request, his body was donated to science. Gordon is survived by his wife Nan; daughters Terri Bopp, Martha Beck, Alison Bopp; great grandsons, Shane Monroe and Donovan Monroe; Canadian cousins, Roberta Fritz and Mark Jauck; six grandchildren and four great grandchildren. A celebration of life for family and friends will be held later in the summer.

Thank you to those who choose to support one of these organizations in which Gordon was involved: Columbia Basin Foundation, 2600 N 20th, Pasco, WA 99301 columbiabasin.edu/donate; National Alliance on Mental Illness Washington https://www.NAMIWA.org/donate; University of Minnesota Morris Academic Experiences Fund https://z.umn.edu/BoppMemorial

Gordon Bopp