William "Bill" F Dopp

William F. Dopp, 77, of Escondido, CA passed away on February 25, 2020. William, or Bill as he

was commonly called, was born in Watertown, WI to William Dopp and June Dopp. He

graduated from East Gary Edison High School in Northwest Indiana and attended Indiana

University where he earned a B.A. in Journalism.

Bill married Janet Dopp on September 8, 1962. Shortly thereafter, they moved to New York City

so Bill could start a career with the Wall Street Journal. Later career moves took Bill and family

to Chicago where he became an entrepreneur and started an advertising agency called TDM.

After moving to Southern California in 1980, Bill started another venture called Executive North,

a business publication, servicing the North County San Diego area. Also, in North County, he

was actively involved in the Rotary Club of Escondido and helped support several philanthropic

initiatives in the area and overseas.

In mid-career, Bill made a profound life decision to become a priest. He studied ministry at the

Claremont School of Theology earning a master’s degree. As a priest, Bill served parishes in

California and Florida and was Archdeacon of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego until 2005. In

addition, Bill studied congregational development and church planning at Seabury-Western

Theological Seminary where he earned a Doctor of Divinity. Later, he wrote three books on

various religious topics including, “The Tale of Two Churches.”

Bill was a life-long sports fan. He loved watching any form of competition. His favorites were

the Indiana University basketball team and, in recent years, the San Diego State basketball

team. He regularly attended Padres games, especially when the Cubs were in town, and

enjoyed watching football and other sports.

Throughout his life, Bill was an active member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He was initiated into

the Brotherhood at Indiana University Lambda chapter in 1960. As an alumnus, Bill was active

in the San Diego Alumni Association holding several offices including President of the SDSU

Housing Corporation. He helped start a chapter at UCSD and another chapter at the University

of Tampa. He was involved in the Horizons program and was honored by the Fraternity for his

many contributions with membership into the Order of Constantine.

Bill is survived by his wife of 57 years, Janet Dopp, his sons William J. Dopp and Doug F. Dopp,

his brother Jack Dopp, and his grandchildren Alexandra I. Dopp, John C. Dopp, and Sabrina E.

Dopp. A memorial service for Bill will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church on Friday, March 20th

at 11.00am. The church is located at 845 Chestnut Street, Escondido, CA. In lieu of flowers, the

family requests donations be made to the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Bill’s memory

(https://huntsmancancer.org/giving/foundation/sigma-chi.php).

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