Karel Topinka

1918 - 2015

Topinka, Karel; born September 24, 1918; died July 28, 2015. Karel was born in Vienna, Austria to Leopold Topinka and Elizabeth Sotorova and raised in Teš, Czechoslovakia. He attended Charles University in Prague. In 1943 he met his future wife Erika Damhof in Munich, Germany where he was her Latin Instructor. He immigrated with his family to the U.S. following WWII, where he worked at a sawmill in Halfway, Oregon until 1959. He obtained his BA at University of Idaho, followed by an MA at University of Colorado. He taught foreign language at Ashland College in Ohio, then German and Russian at CMU in Mt. Pleasant, MI. He retired as an associate professor in 1987. He had a love for language, with education in Czech, Latin, Greek, German, Russian, English, French, and Spanish. Karel and his wife moved to Ludington, MI in 2004. He had a great love of the outdoors and was an avid recycler long before it became fashionable. He is survived by his wife Erika; children Dagmar Wolcott, Vera Topinka, Jan (Kay) Topinka, Marcus Topinka (Kelley Zyniewicz), Michaela Topinka (Michael Espeland), Christopher Topinka (Cathy Craven) 8 grandchildren; and 2 great grandchildren. A private family service will be held on Saturday, August 1st at Clock Funeral Home in Ludington, MI.