Robert “Bob” Allan Koop, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend, passed away peacefully on August 24, 2025, with his loving family by his side. He was born in Holland, Michigan, on April 24, 1943, to Helen Schmidt Koop and Melvin Harold Koop. Bob was a devoted big brother to his cherished sister, Linda, and spent his childhood along the shores of Lake Michigan surrounded by family, aunts, uncles, and his lifelong best friend and cousin, Herk Van Tongeren.

The Koop family later relocated to sunny Southern California, where Bob attended school in Arcadia and Tustin. There, he met the lifelong friends who would become known as the “Boys of ’43.” Together, they surfed, played baseball, studied, and formed the kind of deep, rowdy friendships that led to a lifetime of unfor

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