Constance Oppel

Constance G Oppel

March 21, 1924 - June 7, 2020.

Connie passed away peacefully at home the morning of Sunday, June 7th. She was 96. She was born on March 21st, 1924 in Baudette, MN, the only child of Ernest and Edna Gillie. She spent her youth living in Williams, MN until she left for the University of Minnesota after graduating from high school. She majored in Early childhood Education, and moved to the Pacific NW to teach at the preschool in the Kaiser Shipyards in Portland. In 1947 she married Rollie Oppel, who preceded her in death. They lived in California for a short time where her first of four children, her daughter Debby, was born. The family then moved back to Minneapolis, MN where their next three children were born…Jim (who preceded her in death in 1970), Marcie, and Tim. Connie taught kindergarten in Minneapolis until the family moved to Helena, MT in 1967. She taught kindergarten for a year there, and then the family moved back to the Pacific NW, to settle in Vancouver. Connie taught kindergarten at Peter S. Ogden Elementary from 1968 - 1972, and was teaching there the day a tornado swept through Vancouver and destroyed the school in 1972. The following school year she started teaching Kindergarten at Lake Shore Elementary. She retired from the Vancouver School District in 1988. Connie was an avid traveler. She had traveled extensively around the United States, as well as Switzerland, Europe, Antarctica, Australia, and the Panama Canal. Her hobbies also included time with friends, cooking, reading, walking, service to her church, and spending time with her grandchildren. We are sad she is gone, but we know she is joyful now, being reunited with all the people who left before her, most importantly her son Jim who was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1970 at age 14. She is survived by her other three children; Debby Campbell, Marcie Ramberg, and Tim Oppel, as well as her four grandchildren and the light of her life during the last year - her 1st great granddaughter.

Upcoming Funeral Service:

Due to the coronavirus, we are postponing any kind of memorial service. Please email her daughter Marcie Ramberg at marcie.ramberg@yahoo.com if you would like to be notified when we are able to have some type of event.

Message from the family:

We appreciate all the cards and letters. People have inquired about donations in her memory. Please feel free to donate to the Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools. Donations can be made online (https://foundationforvps.org/) or by check (made out to Foundation for VPS, PO Box 6039, Vancouver, WA 98668) Donors should indicate "in memory or Connie Oppel" in the memo or notes field.