Alvin Roper

Alvin Charley Roper
1921 - 2016

Our kind and beloved father, husband, grandfather and great grandfather, Alvin Charley Roper, 94, passed away peacefully on May 18, 2016 at The Legacy Assisted Living Center in South Jordan, Utah.

Born October 20, 1921 to Bert and Nellie Jacobsen Roper in the rural community of Oak City, Ut.  He went by “Charley” most of his life.

He attended and graduated from Delta High School in 1939.  He moved to Caliente, NV in 1940 to work for the Union Pacific Railroad at the local depot.  While there he met his future lifelong wife, Charlotte. They were married in Los Angeles, March 1942.

During WWII he served in the Army 778 ^th Tank Battalion which was part of Patton’s 3 ^rd Army.  He trained in various domestic locations starting in October 1942 and eventually arrived in Cherbourg, FR on Labor Day 1943. On VE day, May 8, 1945 he was fighting in Czechoslovakia.  The last week of 1945 he arrived in New York, was honorably discharged in January 1946, and received a Purple Heart medal.

After the military he and Charlotte settled in Los Angeles.  He went into the ice business but that was short-lived due to the advent of refrigeration.  He went to work in the HVAC business and remained with it until his first retirement in 1978 after 31 years.  All 3 of his children were born in Los Angeles.  Favorite pastimes in Los Angeles were ocean fishing and attending Laker games during the early LA years.

In 1978 they moved to Cottonwood Heights to be closer to relatives.  He went to work as the first engineer for the Jordan River Temple.  He was an avid landscaper and gardener and the house showed it.  After retiring from the second job sometime in the 1990’s he and Charlotte traveled to see children, grandchildren, and attended reunions of the Tank Battalion.  Locally he resumed his fishing interest, particularly along the creeks of the Wasatch Front.  They stayed in their home until March 2008 when health reasons required them to move to assisted living in South Jordan.

He was a lifelong faithful member of the LDS church; holding various positions in the wards they lived in.  He and Charlotte were sealed in the L.A. temple on August 13, 1976.

He was preceded in death by Charlotte who passed in March 2014.  He leaves behind all three children, Charles (Jane), Richard (Colleen) and daughter Margaret (Douglas) Peck. Grandchildren Spencer (Erin), Elliott (Maggie), Brett (Laura), Preston, Douglas (fiancé Karis), Emily (Aaron), Allison and Brian Peck; and 6 great grand children Madeline, William, Nolan, Michelle, Korah and Mila.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, May 24, 2016, 11:00 am at Cannon Mortuary, 2460 E. Bengal Blvd. (7600 S.), Cottonwood Heights, Utah 84121.  Visitation with the family will be Monday, May 23, 6-8 pm at Cannon Mortuary.  Interment Mountain View Memorial Estates.