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John Oppy Obituary
John Thomas Oppy
July 15, 1950 - January 21, 2018
John Thomas Oppy, 67, of Aurora, passed away January 21, 2018.
He was born July 15, 1950 in Harvey, Illinois, the son of John and Helen (Krauczak) Oppy. He was a graduate of Watseka High School. He graduated from Purdue University. On October 27, 1979 he married Maureen Ahern, currently of Aurora, Colorado.
John is survived by his wife, Maureen Oppy; two daughters, Diana (Greg) Giles and Dana Oppy; one granddaughter, Caroline Giles; and two sisters, Linda (James) Lyons and Mary (Donald) Wardlow. He is preceded in death by his parents, John and Helen Oppy and sister, Karen Pruitt.
John began his 19 year research and product development career with Kraft Foods working in the pet foods (Kankakee, IL) and dessert divisions (Cranbury, NJ). During his time with Kraft he was issued a US Patent for his innovative work on Cool Whip Topping. In 1987 his career with Kraft took him to Mason City, IA where he became the quality manager for the new Jell-O manufacturing facility.
John was also an entrepreneur. In 1993 he opened the famed JT's Bagel Depot & owned the successful Mason City business for 13 years. Following his ownership of the Bagel Depot, he found his expertise in product research was needed at a local agricultural feed manufacturer, Varied Industries Corporation. While there he developed a product to enhance livestock health which is sold globally. He rose to a Vice President position and had the opportunity to travel internationally where he made many lifelong friends.
In 2014, John and his wife decided to retire and relocate to the Denver, CO area to be close to their two daughters. In his retirement years he enjoyed watching the view of the magnificent Rocky Mountain skyline and brilliant sunshine outside his new home. He also found himself doing consulting for Agra Feed International, LLC (Rockwell, IA). The Oppy Family enjoyed traveling on road trips in John's red Ford F-150 all across the western states. An added joy in his retirement was his first granddaughter, Caroline Giles, who spent two days a week at the Oppy home for 'grampy' daycare.
To share a memory of John or leave a special condolence message for his family, please visit www.newcomerdenver.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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