Thane Frederick Opfell, known as “The Gentle Giant”, at 6’7”, passed on August 9, 2019. He was a beloved teacher and administrator with the Los Angeles Unified School District, from which he retired in 2017. He is the son of Dr.  John B. Opfell (1924-2018), a scientist, and Olga S. Opfell (1919-2008), a writer. He is survived by his identical twin brother, Jon G. Opfell, and his older brother, Christopher K. Opfell.

It is no surprise that Thane ended up in the educational field, having been an excellent student at Agoura High School, where he was on the debate team, and then following his older brother to UC Irvine where he graduated in 1979 with a degree in History. After graduation he worked with the California Park Service in search and rescue at San Jacinto State Park while obtaining his MA from California State University, Northridge. He graduated as well from the Outward Bound School of Mountaineering in Leadville, Colorado. 

Thane was an avid mountaineer, having ascended Mt. Whitney with his twin brother at 17 years of age in 1975 and subsequently three additional times on various routes to the summit. He was also an exceptional skier who enjoyed the black diamond ski slopes at various resorts in the San Gabriel Mountains as well as at Mammoth Mountain in the Sierra Nevada.

In 1982 he married his college sweetheart, Debbie Potter, but the marriage did not last and Thane remained single for the rest of his life.

His first job as a teacher was at Lawrence Middle School in Chatsworth, CA, where he taught history and computer science. Years later, he was promoted to Assistant Principal at Monroe High School, where he spent the balance of his career, before returning to Lawrence as an Assistant Vice Principal just before he retired. On September 24, 2019, the Maker’s Lab at Lawrence was dedicated in his name.

Thane is remembered by students and co-workers alike as someone whose door was always open and was always interested in hearing about them more than talking about himself. He was an avid student of history, particularly World War 2, and it was said that he knew more about the war than those who actually fought in it. He received a Winston Churchill Scholarship at one point.

He was also a great lover of animals, particularly rescues. He spent the last years of his life in the company of his Chihuahua, Little Pea, and his rescue cats Spot and Callie. He passed shortly after Pea and Spot and their ashes were buried with him.

Thane will be fondly reminisced and deeply missed. He was someone who had a very positive impact on those around him and made our world a better place.