Kopriva, Tom. Dr. Thomas Kopriva, a dentist, passed away on December 28, 2022, with a memorial to be held on January 19, 2023, his 80th birthday.

This comment came from classmate Al Klavora: 'I remember Tom as an all around guy who was fun to be around. Was in my homeroom all four years.'

From classmate Al Rhodes: 'Tom led a very interesting and fulfilled life.'

David Pfriem remembers being proud that Tom, who was in the advanced classes at Saint Joe's, also played on the Viking football team for four years.

His obituary noted that he served in the United States Air Force and became a captain.

Classmate Jim Melle noted that you can Google Tom's name and find out that he had an interesting and varied life, some of which is reviewed in the death notice posted below.

Thomas (“Tom�) Michael Kopriva passed away on Dec. 28th of a heart attack at the age of 79. He was born on January 19th, 1943 in Cleveland, Ohio to Ida and Nickolas Kopriva; he was the eldest of three children.

In 1968, Tom graduated from Case Western Dental School; that’s where he fell in love with Earline Cole when she sat in his dental chair. Tom served in the United States Air Force and worked as a dentist at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas. In 1970, Tom and Earline married in Del Rio, Texas. After being honorably discharged as a captain from the Air Force, in 1972 Dr. Kopriva began his professional career in Houston.

Their son, Michael Thomas, was born in 1974. The family moved to Eugene in 1980 where Tom joined the dental practice of Dr. Clark. Tom later bought the practice and insisted that Earline be his office manager.

Tom and Earline lived life to the fullest and traveled extensively. Tom was a man of many talents. He was a collector, golfer, fisherman, cook, gardener, bird watcher and photographer. He was musical and had a large collection of guitars which he enjoyed playing. One of his many hobbies was the design and fabrication of Earline’s jewelry. His 2022 Christmas gift was a necklace and earring set that featured beads with maps of places they visited. He also was an enthusiastic patron of the Eugene Library.

As a child Tom developed a life- long passion for model airplanes and was a member of a number of clubs affiliated with the Academy of Model Aeronautics. He made and flew model airplanes and won many contests with his creations.

He had firm opinions which he was more than willing to share, often sitting back and enjoying the reactions of others. Not wishy washy, our Tom.

Tom was predeceased by his parents, his sisters, and sadly his son, Michael. He is survived by his devoted wife, Earline. A celebration of life will be held on what would have been Tom’s 80th birthday, January 19th at 2pm at Along Came Trudy, 1488 18th St., Springfield, Oregon.

Contributions in his memory can be made to the Eugene Library Foundation or Wounded Warrior Project.
Posted By: Administrator - 01-13-2023
Views: 782