Thomas 'Tom' Everett Oppel Jr., 85
Thomas "Tom" Everett Oppel Jr. died on his 85th birthday, on Nov. 22, 2024, in Bigfork, less than four months after losing his beloved wife of 58 years, Maureen.
Tom was born in Newark, New Jersey, on Nov. 22, 1939, to Thomas Everett, Sr., and Florence Roberta Oppel of Union, New Jersey. He spent his childhood in Union as a budding naturalist with an affinity for the many species of snakes offered by the Garden State. After graduating from Union High School in 1957, Tom deferred college to work wherever opportunities would arise, then joined the Coast Guard in 1959.
After his service in the Coast Guard, Tom married Carole Werthmann, the daughter of Joseph and Agnes Werthmann of Union, New Jersey, in 1960. Tom and Carole had Thomas John Oppel in the fall of 1960. When Thomas was four years old, Carole passed away from brain cancer, leaving Tom as a single father with a toddler to take care of with the help of relatives.
In early 1965, Tom met a blue-eyed blonde beauty named Maureen Weil, also from the Union area. On Aug. 20, 1966, Tom and Maureen were married. In June of 1967, they had their first child, Todd. In the late 1960s, Tom earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and launched a career in business and information technology (IT), back in the day when a computer would take up a whole room. Tom and Maureen had three more sons: Glenn (born 1970), Brian (born 1974), and Lee (born 1976).
In November 1977, Tom moved his family to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, where he worked in IT at JP Ward Foundries in Blossburg, Pennsylvania. But since his youth, Tom had wanted to live in the western United States. After a guided elk hunting expedition in Montana in 1985, he moved his family west, starting in Utah but eventually moving to Montana’s beautiful Flathead Valley in 1988, where he and Maureen lived the remainder of their lives in Bigfork.
He had a love affair with firearms since he was a kid. He became a passionate gun collector and eventually a craftsman, building a number of his own rifles. He would spend many evenings and weekends in his shop working on a new gun to add to his burgeoning collection or repairing or rebuilding guns for others who appreciated his skill. He also read extensively about the history of firearms and wrote numerous articles about guns in his collection that were published in prominent gun magazines.
Tom served as president of the Lambs Creek Gun Club in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, as well as the Bigfork Gun Club in Bigfork. He was a regular in various shooting competitions, too, and often brought home trophies. Tom was well known in the Flathead Valley as a gun aficionado and ran the annual gun show in Kalispell for 20 years. One of his favorite pastimes was shooting with his kids and grandkids.
He also was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hiking and hunting. He knew all the trails and backroads on both sides of the Swan Valley like the back of his hand, which helped with many successful deer and elk hunting outings.
Tom loved many different forms of music. He always had music playing in the house, his shop, or the car, whether on a radio, record player, 8-track, cassette, CD, and eventually digital. Exposure to music rubbed off on his boys, who became experienced musicians, often playing in bands or making their own music.
He worked in IT for Plum Creek Timber Company in Columbia Falls, for over two decades, retiring in 2004. He always displayed the neon green "This family supported by timber dollars" sign prominently on his property. The consummate professional, he appreciated the opportunities he was afforded in his successful career.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Carole Werthmann, his second wife, Maureen (Weil) Oppel, who passed July 29, 2024, and his only sibling, Kathlyn (Kathy) Merriman of Spring Lake, New Jersey.
He is survived by his sons, Thomas John Oppel of Frankfurt, Germany, Todd Oppel (Amy) of Bigfork, Glenn Oppel (Courtney) of Helena, Brian Oppel (Laura O’Connell) of Kenmore, Washington, and Lee Oppel of Kalispell; his grandchildren, Ashley Lynne of Corvallis, Montana, Devin Thomas of Bigfork, Ethan Christopher and Madeleine Elizabeth of Helena, and Gavin Everett Austin of Kenmore; his great-grandsons, Noah Todd, Alijah Jordan, Malachi William, and Isaiah Everett Alexander, of Corvallis, and many nieces and nephews.
Tom often proclaimed he marched to the tune of a different drummer. He lived a unique life dedicated to pursuits to improve his mind and his understanding of the world around him. He certainly embraced Socrates’ dictum that the unexamined life is not worth living. He dedicated many evenings reading about political philosophy and economics. He was an ardent advocate of the free society and free market capitalism. And he was passionate about passing his knowledge and wisdom on to the people in his sphere of influence. He was a singular man and will be missed immensely by his family and friends.
A funeral mass to honor Tom will be held at St. John Paul II Catholic Church, 195 Coverdell Rd. in Bigfork on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 11:30 a.m., followed by a reception.