In his youth, Bob’s parents and family farmed multiple locations in and around Winnebago. He was extremely proud of his parents, his family, and their family farming legacy. His grandkids can repeat multiple stories of how Bob’s father made a difference in the community, being the first to have rubber tires on his tractor, looking out for kids in town during the great Minnesota Armistice Day blizzard of 1940, and generally working to make sure everyone in the family and friends had work, a bed, or food when they needed it.

His love of sports led to his first of many jobs in journalism – writing sports for the Winnebago Enterprise newspaper in high school. He later wrote for his college newspaper and had an enduring life long relationship with typewriters, cameras, words, and newspapers.

He was the first in his family to attend college, Mankato State, now Minnesota State. After graduation with the class of 1953, he entered the U.S. Army and was on a ship bound for Korea, when he was detoured to Japan for his technical skills – he could write, type and, yes, run a mimeograph machine, to support the Army Command. These skills would also serve him well in his career as a teacher and a journalist.

After the army, he took a high school teaching job in Chatfield, Minn., where he would meet and marry Elizabeth Tuohy in 1959. In the fall of 1961, he and Liz took the risk, flier, and the opportunity of a lifetime, to move to Yuba City, Calif. for Bob to teach English at Yuba City High School. In addition to teaching, he eventually became the sports editor of the Independent Herald, a local newspaper, and mentored the high school yearbook staff. During summer “vacation” he was a field man for Hunts Foods, working logistics on where the crews harvesting tomatoes and peaches needed to be throughout Sutter and Yuba counties. He became a big fan of Cesar Chavez. After his separation from Liz in the early 1970s, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and began new jobs with the Mount Diablo Unified School District and the Concord Transcript newspaper. He taught at Olympic Continuation High School in an era when such schools really were for kids who needed a different approach to organized learning – and he made a difference in the lives of many kids. Mr. Toppin wore a tie and a sport coat every day. The respect he earned from his students was evident in the teaching awards he received over the years, but far more important to him were the smiles and shout outs he would get from his former students who were now out in the community, working in the real world for which he helped them to prepare. These positive public interactions helped his family understand the huge impact he had made on his many students.

At Olympic High School, he met another teacher, Martha Doerr, who shared his love of history and literature. They were married for 9 years. He was primarily a photographer for the Concord Transcript, taking pictures during the glory years of the A’s and the Raiders. Being on the field or behind the backstop to see the heroics of Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson and Kenny Stabler was a life-long dream.

Although he retired from full-time teaching in the early 2000s, Bob continued to stay involved by home schooling kids who really needed his help. He was possibly busier after retirement as he took care of his grandchildren frequently and attended many of their sporting and educational events. He took great joy in driving all over northern California to see his children and grandchildren and loved his annual solo drive back to Winnebago, with occasional stops on the way to see his sister Pat in Arizona. With his sons he went on tours of the baseball parks of America, with detours for presidential libraries, civil war battlefields, and any site of historical significance. He also got to attend a Democratic National Convention and a Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

His heroes included Hubert Humphrey, Harry Truman. Kurt Vonnegut, Larry McMurtry, Jack London, Gary Trudeau, Gene Autry, Mel Brooks, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Francis Tarkenton, Bud Grant, Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter. If he had an anti-hero list, Richard Nixon would have topped it.

Bob/Dad/Papa/Grampa/Grandfather will be remembered by his family for his guidance and support throughout his life. His smile made you feel great when you were sharing experiences with him and even better when you had a bad day. Even as the end approached, he smiled and let you know, “I had a good, long run.”

He is survived by his children and their spouses, Tim (Peggy) Toppin, Kristin (Eddie) Harris, and Ted (Michelle) Toppin; grandchildren, Carrie, Danny, Derek, Shauna, Patrick and Katie; great-grandchildren, Tyler, Codie, Brodie, Miller and Rhys; brothers, Harold and John Toppin; and sister, Pat Schoneck. In lieu of flowers or memorials, please make a donation to a charity that you know really needs it.

Bob’s celebration of life will be held 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, in the club room of Creekside Clubhouse in Rossmoor, 1010 Stanley Dollar Dr., in Walnut Creek, Calif. Please join us to celebrate a life well-lived.

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