STROPPINI, Elmer 'Strop'
Born October 4, 1916 in Paterson, CA; passed way August 1, 2012 in Roseville, CA at the age of 95. Beloved husband of 56 years to Ann Stroppini, who passed 13 years earlier. Greatly missed by his soul mate of the past 12 years, Jean Werthman of Lincoln Hills, CA; and his children Gilbert Stroppini and soul mate Linda Emmick, and Alan Stroppini and soul mate Kathy Cooper all of Sacramento, CA; Forever remembered by his grandchildren, Wendy Silvera and husband Steve; Natalie Larson and husband Chad; and Noelle Stroppini and husband Jason Smith; and great-grandchildren Jeff, Joey and Sophia Silvera and Adie Larson, and a host of loving cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. Proceeded in death by father and mother, Harold 'Doc' and Clemantina Totman; and his two brothers Frank Stroppini and Harold Totman Jr. Graduated in 1939 with a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. After graduation he worked briefly for the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corp of Engineers. He was a veteran of WWII and served in the European Theatre. After the war he did brief assignments with both the Corp and the Bureau eventually moving to the California Department of Water Resources in 1950. He worked as a dam inspector in the Safety of Dams Office for 5 years. He then transferred to the Division of Design and Construction where he worked for another 21 years designing and overseeing construction of all the dams on State Water Project. His pride and joy was Oroville Dam. He retired in 1976. He was an athlete all his life starting in high school playing tennis and basketball. At Modesto JC he was a Northern California Tennis Champion. At Cal he learned to play golf and bridge. Golf was his passion, only interrupted by WWII and a mild stroke in 2004 which ended his play. He learned how to operate a PC computer in the late 1980s. This allowed him to further his efforts and understanding of the stock trading analytics. He returned to bridge and played the game 'exceptionally well' up to his passing.
He will be forever loved and missed by all who knew him. Graveside services will be held Friday, August 10th at 10:30 am at Fair Oaks Cemetery, 7780 Olive Street, Fair Oaks. Celebration of life will follow at the Orchard Creek Lodge in Lincoln Hills, 1005 Sun City Ln, Lincoln CA 95648.
Published in The Sacramento Bee on August 5, 2012
