David Roper

David Roper, resident of Helendale, California and formerly of Burley, Idaho, left us far too soon on Monday May 4th, 2020. He was 67 years old. He died at St. Mary’s hospital in Apple Valley, California from complications of enteritis. It seems impossible to sum up a life force such as David Roper in just a few short paragraphs. We wanted to honor him, so we took our time to get it right.

David William Roper was born on May 30th, 1952 to Jim and Bette Roper in Burley, Idaho. David joined an older brother, Jeffrey, and they grew up together in the new home that their parents had built. He attended schools in Burley and still maintained close friendships with many of his childhood friends.

David started skiing at the age of 4 and spent many seasons in Sun Valley on the slopes with his family. David also enjoyed many trips with his family to New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and Los Angeles, to name a few. He skied well into his 30’s, until as he said, “It just got

too cold, and I never wanted to be that cold again”.

At 6 years old, David began golfing, which ignited his lifelong passion for the sport. By the time he was 12 years old, with his Dad by his side, he was playing in golf tournaments and later was a member of the Burley High School Golf team. He played in countless tournaments, thousands

of rounds and maintained an impressively low handicap. His love for the game never faltered and he continued to play amateur tournaments throughout his life. Annette would always joke that she was his wife and golf was his mistress, and that she was okay with that! David and

Annette played together in many club tournaments and were members of the Idaho Couples Golf Association, the SilverLinks Golf Club, and others over the years.

If golf was David’s mistress, then music set his soul on fire. From the age of 12 music was his passion. He loved most genres of music, especially classic rock, blues, jazz, alternative, hip hop and more. As a young man, he played in a Burley band that headlined in some unmentionable places around town. He attended many concerts with friends and remembered most of them. Growing up, we would often sit around and listen to him jamming to some of his favorite bands like the Beatles, Eric Clapton, Cream and Phish. He would tell us stories of concerts he had attended and random facts about whatever band he was listening to. If we ever had a question

about music, he was the one we went to.

Many people may not realize that David was a Boy Scout growing up. He and his father were a part of the local troop and went on camping trips and other events. One such event was a 50- mile hike with his Dad and other scouts that nearly killed them both! David earned his Eagle Scout Rank on April 12, 1968.

After David graduated high school, he had many adventures with good friends including a wild trip across the country with Steve Duffin in a Volkswagen bus, heading to Florida and back. After a few years of college at both Florida Presbyterian and the University of Idaho, David returned to Burley to continue working in the family business, The Roper Clothing Company.

For the next 13 years he golfed, worked, and partied a lot. On August 17th, 1986, a friend drove him to a treatment center and on August 18th he began a new life clean and sober in AA for the next 33 years. During that time, he helped many people realize and maintain that dream of sobriety and was a good friend to anyone who knew him. He gave of his time selflessly to those who needed his experience, strength, and hope.

After two unsuccessful attempts at marriage he met the love of his life, Annette, on January 9th, 1991, on a blind date arranged by a mutual friend. On September 16th, 1995 (which also happened to be his parent’s 49th wedding anniversary and they figured that day might work for

them too) he married Annette Thomason in a simple ceremony at their home surrounded by friends and loved ones and began the greatest adventure of his life. When he married Annette, he acquired an instant family whom he dearly loved and who adored him. He became a father of three, Kevin, Kimberly and Jaimee, and as each began their own families that number grew

to include 12 grandchildren. They were always “my children or our children, or our grandchildren,” as it did not matter to him how they became his, they were his and he was theirs. Whether he was teaching them how to play the guitar, golf or just teasing them, he loved spending time with his children and grandchildren.

David had many interests including bowling in the winter, and golfing whenever possible. David was an avid sports fan of golf, baseball, football, all the Olympics, a stint of soccer, and especially basketball. He was an LA Lakers and Atlanta Braves fan from childhood. He belonged

to the same fantasy football league in Burley for the last 40+ years as well as a member of a fantasy football league in Helendale, CA. He won any sports trivia game hands down!

David had a fabulous sense of humor, albeit a little dry at times! Always one to tease, he loved to joke around, even with total strangers. Many people did not know how to take him, but once they got to know him, they appreciated him immensely. He was incredibly knowledgeable about many topics and loved to debate with friends and family. He was a seeker of truth, and always searched it out. David was a kind man with a generous heart. He loved people just as they were, flaws and all. He loved animals and could not stand to see them mistreated. He was a just and honest man, and expected others to be the same.

David retired in 1999 after the Roper Clothing Company closed their retail stores. He began to

build and design websites for local businesses and maintained them for many years. He also ventured into the custom golf cart business with some good friends, and genuinely enjoyed that for many years.

In 2001 David and Annette discovered Silver Lakes, a community in Southern California, where one could golf all year, which of course, was right up David’s alley. They purchased a home there in July of 2001, and in November 2005 they became permanent residents of Silver Lakes. Their youngest daughter Jaimee followed them to California in March of 2006 and has lived near them ever since. Jaimee and David were very close, and often had great discussions about many things, especially politics, world affairs and music.

David and Annette traveled to Idaho frequently to visit their children, grandchildren, and many friends. Having sold their house there, they later purchased another small home and began to spend more time there in the summer so they could visit with family, golf with friends, and enjoy their close ties to the Burley community.

David’s passing has left a devastating hole in our family. We will forever miss his deep voice, his humor, his passion for life and his love for all of us. He is now with Jim and Bette, golfing and jamming with Hendrix and Lennon. We are incredibly thankful that we were blessed to have David for as long as we did. We will carry him in our hearts forever. And we know that one day, he will greet us with, “Hey man…what took you so long?”

David is survived by his wife of 24 years, Annette Roper of Helendale, their son Kevin Neal (Nikole), daughter Kimberly McKnight (Zane), and daughter Jaimee White (Chris), grandchildren Nathaniel, Tyler, Skylee, Zackary, Brandon, Joel David, Jaydan, Kassandra, Matthew, CJ, Hudson

William and Kayhliahna, brother Jeffrey Roper (Frances) of Burley, nephews Sam Roper, Ben Roper and niece Allison Roper, and lastly but certainly not least, his cousin Victoria Roper.

He was preceded in death by his parents James and Bette Roper.

***Due to Covid-19 no services are planned. However, a video memorial is posted on Youtube channel David Roper. The family invites you to attend and leave messages there if you wish. If you wish to receive a link to view the video by the family, please contact Jeff Roper at [email protected] or Annette Roper at [email protected].