R. Keith Schoppa

MADISON, Wis./TOWSON, Md. - R. Keith Schoppa, age 78, of Towson, passed away on June 27, 2022, in his summer home in Madison, Wis., surrounded by family, after a recent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He was born in Vernon, Texas, son of Robert and Dorothy (Karcher) Schoppa and grew up in Plainview, Texas, where he was valedictorian of his high school class.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in history from Valparaiso University, Keith discovered a new academic interest when he received a fellowship to the University of Hawaii’s East-West Center and earned his master’s degree in East Asian History in 1968.   He was united in marriage to Beth Braaten on July 14, 1968, at Valparaiso University’s Gloria Christi Chapel, after which he began his career as professor and scholar which extended to his retirement in 2014.

While at Valparaiso University from 1968 to 1998, he was the first to teach courses in East Asian History (China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam) and helped to establish an East Asian Studies Program, which he chaired for 11 years, in addition to serving as chair of the History Department for 19 years.  He was on leave in the early 1970s to do graduate work at the University of Michigan, where he received his Ph.D. in Modern Chinese History.  

After his Ph.D. dissertation, he began researching and authoring books on modern Chinese history and went on to author a half dozen major books on China and East Asia, as well as many papers and textbooks.  He received the 1997 Joseph Levenson Prize in Twentieth Century China, given by the Association for Asian Studies, for Blood Road: The Mystery of Shen Dingyi in Revolutionary China.  
 

In 1998, Keith was honored to be named Doehler Chair in Asian History at Loyola University Maryland, where he enjoyed teaching until his retirement in 2014.  He loved the camaraderie of his History Department colleagues and a teaching load which permitted more time for research and writing. At Loyola he received the Nachbar Award in recognition of Outstanding Scholarly Achievement in the Humanities from the Center for the Humanities. After his retirement, he remained an active scholar and author, publishing his last book, The Twentieth Century: A World History, in 2021.

He remained passionate about teaching and sharing his knowledge with his students over his 40 plus years as a professor. He even taught his two oldest children, Kara and Derek, when they took one of his popular courses, The Vietnam War through Film and Literature, during a summer session.  The recipient of many awards and fellowships, he was pleased to be named the 1994 Indiana Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Aside from his academic career, he maintained the values from his childhood living on a cotton farm and being the oldest of five children, where his parents stressed the importance of hard work, love of family and friends, and a strong Christian faith. Many of his friends consistently noted his kindness in their interactions with him. He and Beth were delighted to adopt Kara and Derek from Korea as infants and to be blessed with the birth of Heather.  

Throughout his life, Keith loved music, whether it was playing the organ and piano in church throughout his youth, playing the trombone in high school, singing in his church choir, or attending symphony performances and choral concerts. He and Beth shared the love of travel and cultures, which led to many stateside and international trips together and with their friends. Later in life, with his cell phone camera, he found new delight as a photographer, taking beautiful pictures of the sky, trees and flowers.  He also became an exceptional chef over the years, honing his skills to cook elaborate gourmet meals for his family and friends.  Other strong interests were politics, current events, film, art, theater, and literature, and he enjoyed his years participating in the Valparaiso University Christ College Alumni Reading and Discussion Group.

He was an active church member, both at Immanuel Lutheran in Valparaiso, Ind., and most recently at Divinity Lutheran in Towson, Md., where he served as Council President for several years. His children and grandchildren provided him with great joy, and he loved recent summers at his Madison, Wis. home, where he was able to spend time with his grandchildren and where he also enjoyed St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church. Having get-togethers with his siblings and their families was another highlight through the years.

Keith is survived by his wife, Beth; children, Kara (Bobby) Cobbs, Derek (Ondrea Tucci) Schoppa and Heather (Dave) Bernhard; grandchildren, Laurel Schoppa, and Noah, Luke and Eli Bernhard; sisters, Janis (Sam) Nafzger, Nancy (Jamey Nordby) Duensing and Karen Hengst; sister-in-law, Debbie (Cliff Yarosh) Schoppa; step-grandchildren, Rhyann Whaley and Alexandria Tucci-Rugg, and many nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Randy Schoppa; and brother-in-law, Earnie Hengst.

A memorial service will be held at IMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH, 1700 Monticello Park Drive, Valparaiso, Ind., at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. Visitation will be held at the church from 10 a.m. until the time of the service on Saturday.

A memorial event will be held at a later date at Divinity Lutheran Church, Towson, Maryland.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be gifted in Keith's name to the American Cancer Society, Holt International or Lutheran World Relief. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

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(608) 221-5420