Thomas Koppes
October 25, 1938 - November 05, 2020
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Thomas Koppes
October 25, 1938 - November 05, 2020
Obituary
| Thomas Joseph Koppes, 82, of Gold Canyon, AZ, passed away peacefully on November 5, 2020 after a long battle with cancer. Thomas was born on October 25, 1938, the son of the late Herbert Koppes, Frances Moorman and step-mother Erma Koppes (Kelchen). Thomas grew up with his 6 siblings; 2 sisters and 4 brothers whom were all raised in the Catholic faith. From an early age, Thomas worked on the family’s farming business in Cascade, IA, until shorty after high school. Although Thomas loved the busy farming life, he enlisted in the Army on February 10, 1958. During his time in the Army, Thomas attended signal school, and after graduation, under his leadership, he helped plan and execute all aspects of communication on critical missions for the Army. He was stationed in Japan for his term and was honorably discharged on November 12, 1960. Beginning in 1960, his experience in communications led him to a long, successful career with Rockwell International, formerly Collins Radio, Cedar Rapids, IA. He first worked on the assembly line making radios, and shortly after, promoted to an office management position. He retired in October 1994 from Rockwell Collins. Thomas was a great leader and hard-working father, and one of his many talents was wood working/carpentry. He spent his weekends and evenings making beautiful pieces of furniture for his children and for their family home, while managing residential construction products in subdivisions in Marion, IA. He met and married Marlene Hasler on March 6 1962. He is survived by his 3 children; Julianne Radmanesh; son-in-law, Cyrus Radmanesh, Jeffrey Koppes; daughter-in-law, Brenda and Janan Twohill; son-in-law, Tom Twohill, grandchildren Athena and Arman Radmanesh and TJ, Andrew and Myah Twohill. He is preceded in death by all his parents, his brother Ronald Koppes, brother Loras Koppes, sister Roseanne Vondracek, brother-in-law Earl Takes and grandson Austin Koppes. He has 3 living siblings; Arlene Takes, Kenneth Koppes; sister-in-law, Marion, James Koppes; sister-in-law, Dianne. On Friday, November, 13th, a celebration of Thomas’ life, memorial service will be held for a small group of family members at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix, Arizona. Due to the current state mandates on public gatherings, a private memorial event will be held at a future date, per the discretion of family members. |