Robert Charles Hoppe

Bob was known for his generosity and quick wit. He loved family, a good joke, golf, dancing and travel — not always in that order, depending on whether it was a really good joke or a birdie.

Born and raised in New York, he remembered days of playing stick ball in the street as a child. Later, he spent most of his after-school hours working jobs, including as a soda jerk. During summers, he traveled the coastline and internationally working in the merchant marine because it paid well, and mostly confined to the ship, he could save money. He graduated Queens College before being drafted into the Army in 1952. As a soldier, he witnessed an atomic bomb test in Nevada.

After his discharge, he returned to Long Island and was working as a printer when Army pal Stanley Hickman recruited him to Texas for real estate ventures, and adventures. They eventually formed Hickman-Hoppe & Co., becoming one of the top commercial real estate firms in Dallas.

Bob said anyone who worked in the volatile real estate market could sleep like a baby, “Up every three hours crying.”

During a downturn, the two dissolved the business and Bob moved to San Antonio and built his own company, RC Hoppe & Co.

He was a longtime Optimists Club member, and ran or worked the annual Christmas tree lot for many years. He was involved in many other charitable endeavors, including as a Freemason for 50 years.

He and Laura, the love of his life and wife of 52 years, traveled the world, including China, Thailand and Singapore as ambassadors for the People-to-People program to build international connections through golf.

A strong golfer, he was proud to continue to “shoot his age” throughout his 80s. He also was a member of the San Antonio ski club and traversed mountains throughout the U.S. When with his family in Colorado, he famously skied down the mountain with a broken leg because he wouldn’t stand the indignity of being brought down by ski patrol.

He was a patriarch for the family, regularly organizing and hosting large family gatherings, with cousins spilling from every room. He became a touchstone for many of us.

He never fully retired from managing property, saying in his later years that he would get up, read the obit page and if he didn’t see his name, he’d keep working.

He is survived by wife, Laura, and daughters Cathy Davis of Tucson, Christy Hoppe of Austin and Jennifer Hoppe of Palm Springs; grandchildren Courtney Campbell and Trevor Davis; nephew Chuck Hoppe and nieces Debbie Flaherty and Laura Cassens. He is predeceased by his step-daughter Valerie Humphreys, brother Donald, nephew Keith and niece Suzanne.