MATT COPENHAVER

Matt Copenhaver Passed away on August 16, 2010 and is survived by his three children: Jonathan, Katherine, and Garth; son-in-law, Joel Butler, and mother of his children, Joby. Matt was born in Omaha in 1920 and raised in Los Angeles. At the age of 20, he became the youngest known licensed California Contractor and built houses in Manhattan Beach. With the start of the war he attended Midshipman's School at Harvard and became an Ensign in the US Navy. While in China he witnessed the withdrawal of the Japanese and the advance of Mao's army. Having graduated with high honors in architecture from UC Berkeley, Matt became an integral part of what became known as the Bay Area style. Later, in his San Francisco firm, Copenhaver and Associates, he produced numerous award-winning designs in the Bay Area as well as apartment housing all around California. Matt resided in Mill Valley since 1963. In the late sixties, as chairman of the MV Architectural Advisory Committee, he worked with the MV Planning Commission for the initiation of the very successful MV Civic Beautification Project. By the early 1980s, Matt had become a serious sailor. In 1988, he won the S.F. Yacht Club championship, to his great satisfaction. Matt was a true California original. He saw California become great and played a part in making it happen. An elegant, if often stubborn, gentleman, Matt had an eye for quality without compromise. His ashes have been cast at sea. He loved and was loved and he will be missed. Plans for memorial are pending.