Everett Walter Oppenheimer, 93, died May 10 in Naples, Fla., where he lived since 1988.

Born in Cresskill, N.J., Aug. 26, 1913, he was the only child of Margaret and Walter Oppenheimer.

He began playing the trumpet in the second grade and was first chair trumpet in the high school orchestra while still in junior high.

He attended Lafayette College, with the assistance of a music scholarship, and earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1935.

During college and for a few years after graduating, he played in dance bands until he got a job in the labor department at Armco-Butler Works, where he rose in the metallurgy department to position of works metallurgist.

During the early 1940s, he was involved in the production of a much improved grade of stainless steel, which made possible the small transformers essential for airborne radar. This advancement helped to turn the tide in World War II in the North Atlantic by making detection of U-boats much easier.

He enjoyed teaching technical classes at the mill and had visited steel mills in several countries, including Belgium, France, Japan and Sweden. He retired in 1978.

For several years in the 1950s, he played in the Butler Symphony Orchestra. He had an interest in the sea and all things nautical, was an avid fly fisherman and enjoyed deep sea fishing.

He was a supporter of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, where he sang in the choir and served on numerous committees. He was a volunteer executive for the United Way. He also was a Mason.

He was a loving, caring husband and father. He took enormous delight in his children and grandchildren and, most recently, in his great-grandchildren.

He is survived by his wife, Helen Henderson Hayes Oppenheimer, whom he married in 1938 in Butler; two sons, Lawrence of Fairfax Station, Va., and James of Hyde Park, N.Y.; two grandsons and their wives; two granddaughters; two great-granddaughters; and a great-grandson.

<B>OPPENHEIMER</B> — The funeral for Everett Walter Oppenheimer, who died Thursday, May 10, 2007, was celebrated May 17 at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Bonita Springs, Fla.Donations may be sent to the Music Fund, Saint Mary's Episcopal Church, 9801 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, FL 34135.