Klaus Otto Opalka
Klaus loved family, food, and laughter.
A Celebration of Life communion service will be held at St. Paul Espicopal Church, 340 Locust St., Columbia, PA on Saturday, June 7, 2025, at 11am.
A second service will be held at St. Agnes Catholic Church, 200 S Duke St., Shepherdstown, WV on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at 1 pm.
Klaus Otto Opalka, 16 December 1933 - 17 May 2025
Klaus Otto Opalka, 91, of Columbia, Pennsylvania, passed away at home on Saturday May 17, 2025. Born December 16, 1933 in Berlin, Germany, he immigrated to the United States with his late wife Regina Opalka (née Paul) and first 3 children in 1964 to settle in Harford County, Maryland.
He worked for the Department of the Army at Aberdeen Proving Ground for 30 years. After retirement, Klaus and his wife traveled to and lived in Nova Scotia, Canada; Martinsburg, WV; and Mountain Lake Park, MD. After his wife passed away in 2018, Klaus moved to Bowie, MD with his youngest daughter, and finally to Columbia, PA for the last 4 years of his life.
Klaus loved family, food, and laughter. He enjoyed traveling and sampling foods from other areas, but he loved his traditional German meals the most. He also enjoyed wood-working for many years. As his life slowed down, he still enjoyed taking walks in warm weather.
Klaus is survived by: his sister, Marianne Serwe, in Berlin, Germany; daughter Gabriele Davis and husband Michael; daughter Christiane Garcia-Alvarez; daughter Bernadette Harmon and husband Michael; son Stephan Opalka and wife Natascha; daughter Beate Wilson and husband Cheyenne; 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life communion service will be held at St. Paul Espicopal Church, 340 Locust St., Columbia, PA on Saturday, June 7, 2025, at 11am. A second service will be held at St. Agnes Catholic Church, 200 S Duke St., Shepherdstown, WV on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at 1 pm.
In lieu of flowers, charitable donations in the name of Klaus Opalka may be made to:
Columbia Food Bank: https://columbiafoodbank.org/
Columbia Dream Center: https://columbiahas.org/
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