Ernestine Maria Opton

Longtime Reno, Nevada, resident, Ernestine Opton, 87, died in Woodland Hills, California, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Ernie was born in Linz, Austria, in 1925. In 1947, while working for the U.S. Army translating documents, she met a Berlin-born, U.S. soldier named Hugo Opton. The two fell in love and were married four months later. Ernie and Hugo traveled the globe with the military being stationed in Europe, New York, Washington, the Philippines, and Michigan before settling in Reno. Ernie worked at Harrah’s Club for over 25 years, first in the executive offices and then in entertainment until her retirement. Her phone greeting, “Entertainment, this is Ernie,” was heard by many headliners such as Bill Cosby, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, and Phyllis Diller. Working full-time, she raised two children, Michael Opton, 58, of Needham, Massachusetts, and Lisa Opton Cohen, 49, of Woodland Hills, California. She lived in the Juniper Hills area of Reno for 40 years before moving to the retirement community Sky Peaks, and then to Woodland Hills in 2006. Her great loves were her family, friends, music and books, and her cats. She was a loving mother-in-law to Susan Opton and Michael Cohen, and grandmother to Miles Opton, and Elijah, Joseph, Isaac, David, and Jacob Cohen. She is also survived by her brother, Veit Relin, of Frankfurt, Germany. She was preceded in death by her husband, Hugo, in 1989. A celebration in her honor will be held at Bavarian World on November 11th in Reno. For more information please call Michael Opton at 781-449-5256. In lieu of flowers, Ernie asked that donations be made to the Nevada Opera Association at P.O. Box 3256, Reno, Nevada 89505.