George Roper, Jr. came kicking and screaming into this world in Sacramento, CA on July 16, 1933. His parents, George Sr. and Thelma nicknamed him “Sonny” and was forever called that by his older sisters Patty and Joyce. George and Tootie were high school sweethearts and they were married in her family’s home on August 24, 1953.

George was drafted into the US Army shortly after his high school graduation. He spent most of his tour stationed in Japan from 1953 to 1954, serving as the base photographer, a job he enjoyed very much.

After being honorably discharged, George tried his hand at several professions--timber scaler, vacuum cleaner salesman, photographer, etc., none of which suited him. When Sacramento’s McClellan AFB offered 2 year apprenticeships in electrical and mechanical engineering, the perfect educational alternative for a bright guy with extreme dyslexia, he signed up immediately. He was hired by Aerojet General after graduating but after 7 years as their apprenticeship coordinator, Aerojet began layoffs. So the family of 6 moved to the Monterey Peninsula where he accepted a job with Stanford Research at Fort Hunter Liggett, engineering the US Army’s test systems. He continued that position, a job he loved, working for several various companies employed by the Army for 31 years until his retirement in 1998.

In 1976, George and Tootie purchased a 15 acre ranch in Watsonville, 32 miles north of Monterey. It came with rundown everything--house, barn, garage, fences, and orchard. They spent the next 24 years remodeling the buildings, resurrecting the apple orchard, raising cattle and hogs, boarding horses and hosting family reunions. In 2000 they sold the ranch and moved to Rancho Murieta, California where they were able to enjoy traveling to every US state, China, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Costa Rica. They joined Sacramento State’s Renaissance Society in 2004 and soon became leaders in seniors instructing senior’s classes where, for 8 years, they presented and led discussions on TED Talks and educational documentaries.

George enjoyed many hobbies including woodworking, metal working, camping and fishing. He passed his love of outdoors and camping to his children, Jeff, Christi, Matt and Karen and his 9 grandchildren and 3 great-grands. He also enjoyed writing his memoirs and continued to write after he and Tootie moved to Boise in 2018 but was unable to finish his book about the ranch. His published memoirs about his early life, “Slumgullion,” “Slumgullion, Second Helping,” and “Three Acres” are available from Amazon.

George passed peacefully in his home surrounded by his family on Thursday, August 19, 2021 in Boise, Idaho. He was 88 years old and just 5 days shy of celebrating his 68th wedding anniversary with Tootie.

No services will be held at this time. Please leave your memories on this web site for others to remember George by.

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