OAK HARBOR, Ohio — Darrell W. Opfer of Oak Harbor, a former Genoa government teacher, Ottawa County commissioner, and state representative, died Sept. 20 at Magruder Hospital, Port Clinton. He was 83.

He had several health issues, those close to him said in the family obituary. The cause of death was not reported. 

As the Ohio state representative for the former 53rd House District, Mr. Opfer served the maximum-allowed four successive terms, from 1993 to 2001. He was also a former director of the Ottawa County Improvement Corporation.  

“Darrell was a progressive activist, a Democrat who stood squarely with the working men and women of his district. But he also understood that when you protect Lake Erie, or you invest in public education, you may need Republicans to help. So, he would often reach across the aisle to find assistance,” said Chris Redfern, a former state representative and leader of the Ohio Democratic Party. 

“He understood the importance of legislating. He also understood the importance of politics, and he didn't shy away from either one,” Mr. Redfern said.

The 53rd District included Ottawa County, eastern Lucas County, and western Erie County. Eastern Ottawa County is now part of the 89th District, which also encompasses western Erie County and most of Huron County.

As a state representative, Mr. Opfer focused on education, environment, and agriculture. He was also instrumental in developing rules for electric deregulation in Ohio and in the transfer of the Marblehead Lighthouse from local authority to that of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Along with the Ohio Democratic Party State Campaign, his major campaign contributors included United Auto Workers and Ohio Civil Service Employees Association.

Mr. Redfern also recalled that he had known Mr. Opfer since 1988, and for all that time he “never heard him raise his voice, ever.”

Said Beth Gillman, Ottawa County Democratic Party chairman, “Darrell was a beloved member of the community and will be deeply missed for his wisdom, grace, and willingness to teach and share what he knew.”

Mr. Opfer also served for a time on the State Emergency Management Commission in the 1990s, appointed by the then-Gov. George Voinovich in the fall of 1992, at which time Mr. Opfer was an Ottawa County commissioner running for the state House as a Democratic candidate. 

At the time, the Opfer campaign staff, in a news release, quoted a sentence from the governor’s letter that he was seeking “our brightest and most qualified individuals to serve the state.” 

Mr. Opfer entered politics in 1984 when he was elected an Ottawa County commissioner after 15 years of teaching government and history to high school students, first at Woodward High School for a year and then for 14 years at Genoa Schools.

“I’ve always told the students that people should run for office if the opportunity comes up, and it came up for me so I ran. … I like teaching, but I’d like to do something different for a while,” Mr. Opfer, who took a pay cut to become a commissioner, told The Blade in December, 1982, before taking office as county commissioner.

Mr. Opfer at the time cited his hard work as a secretary of the county’s Democratic Party for the previous six years, as the main reason he won the election to become an Ottawa County commissioner. A lifelong resident of western Ottawa county, except for a three-year stint as a teacher in Kenya with the Peace Corps, he said he hoped to provide residents with better representation than they had in the past.

As a county commissioner, he served eight years, focusing on the building of infrastructure projects such as public water lines, before he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives.

Additionally, he served in the 1980s on the Citizens Advisory Council, which assisted the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio with nuclear safety issues, including helping oversee safety aspects of the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants in the areas of design, operations, and emergency planning.

Born June 17, 1941, in Genoa to Iva and Milton Opfer, he graduated in 1959 from Harris-Elmore High School. He later got his got a bachelor’s degree in education in 1963 from Bowling Green State University, where he also obtained a master’s degree in African history in 1965.

A member of the first team of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers in Kenya, Mr. Opfer taught at the Njiris High School for boys and young men in the Aberdare Mountains for three years before returning to northwest Ohio to teach at Woodward High.

He was a lifelong member of Trinity United Church of Christ, Elliston, Ohio.

A local history buff, he was also a member of several local history societies. Additionally, as a conservation enthusiast, he was a member of the Camp Sabroske board of directors.

Mr. Opfer never married.

Surviving are his sister, Karen Lick, and companion of more than 40 years, Virginia Park.

Memorial services will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday at the church.

The family suggests tributes to the church.

First Published October 3, 2024, 4:00 a.m.