Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.
Zoa Grace Ropp, 95, died peacefully on November 28, 2019, Thanksgiving morning.
“Imagine waking up and finding you are in heaven, breathing the air and finding it celestial.”
She was born on May 10, 1924, in Two Dot, Mont., to Harriet Anna and Roy Addison Hayes. The youngest child in her family, she was called “Baby” for years by her older brother Alfred and older Sisters Lois and Ruth.
Zoa attended Northwest Institute in Seattle, Wash., where she met and married John Dahl. They had one daughter, Karen. The marriage ended in divorce.
Zoa and Karen moved to Goldendale, Wash., to be near Alfred and his family. In Goldendale, she met and married the love of her life, Haskel Ropp, a kind and gentle man who adopted Karen. They had two more children, daughter Yvonne and son Alan. The family moved to The Dalles, Ore., in 1959. Zoa and Haskel were happily married for 44 years. He died in 1998.
Zoa worked at J.C. Penney for 22 years. After she retired, she volunteered at the surgical unit at Mid-Columbia Medical Center, where she provided support and comfort to patients awaiting surgery.
Zoa possessed a deep curiosity about what sights and scenes could be down the next road or over the next hill. She didn’t even like to drive the same route to the grocery store because there were new streets to travel.
When she was 80, she proudly climbed to the top of Beacon Rock with daughter Karen and son-in-law Tom Coats.
In her later years, she enjoyed going on rides with her special friend JoAn Henricks.
Zoa was the most senior member of Life in Christ Church in The Dalles. She served the church for more than 60 years, playing the piano, directing the choir, teaching Sunday School and as a leader of Women’s Ministry.
Zoa will be greatly missed by those who survive her: daughter Karen LeBreton Coats and her husband Tom; daughter A. Yvonne Stainer and her husband David; son Alan Haskel Ropp and his wife Angela; and former son-in-law Jack LeBreton. She is also survived by 12 grandchildren: Jami LeBreton Moy (Erick); Ryan LeBreton (Lindsay); Bonnie LeBreton-Smith (Brian); Kelly Merry (Matt); Kim Flikkema (Robert); Jerin Stainer (Jessica); Paul Alan, Gwyneth, Josiah, Tyler, David and Justice Ropp as well as 25 great-grandchildren.
Zoa’s parents, siblings and husband, Haskel predeceased her.
Zoa’s grandfather immigrated from Ireland. She was proud of her Irish heritage and often spoke of her visit to Ireland with her daughters.
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon your fields.…
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
A family celebration of Zoa’s life will be held in the spring when the Balsam Root and Lupine bloom on Zoa’s beloved Dalles Mountain Road.
Memorial contributions can be made to The Salvation Army or the Columbia Basin Care Foundation.
To plant a tree in memory of Zoa Ropp as a living tribute, please visit Tribute Store.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
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Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
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