Michael Wayne Copeland

I justed wanted to tell the family how sorry I am, and I was truly blessed to have been a friend of Wayne's. We deer hunted and turkey hunted together and talked on the phone all the time. It never mattered when I called he always had time for me. He was a wonderful person who I personally will miss tremendously. He always made sure that I had a place to hunt. Thanks for everthing.

My deepest condolences to the Copeland family. Wayne was my Scoutmaster when I was younger. He really showed me what it meant to appreciate the beauty that mother nature has to offer. My wife and I appreciate the outdoors, which in turn, I can attribute to what Wayne taught me at such a young age. I hope I can pass this along to my children. Wayne, we will miss you...

Wayne was a great person that would welcome anyone into his home. He will forever be missed.

There was never a better man to walk the face of this earth. Wayne was an excellent son, brother, father, friend, hunter, naturalist, mechanic, cook, taxidermist, good Samaritan….. how many adjectives are there in the English language to describe the most dynamic human being in existence?

You didn’t go to the woods with Wayne and it not be an adventure. Luckily enough, I always took my video camera and have hours and hours of Wayne in action. In Orangeburg at the Bluff Field,...

Wayne was my scoutmaster many years ago. He took me hunting and camping the only times I've ever been in my life. He taught me to respect nature and all her children. I haven't thought about these times in my life for a very long time. I had just been telling my wife about the first hunting trip I'd ever been on. I told her about my scoutmaster who took this 12 year old kid out and showed him everything. How to load and aim a gun, pitch a tent, clean and eat everything you kill. Then my...

How does a person capture a life-long love in words? The relationship Wayne and I shared goes far beyond friendship; I’m not quite sure how to characterize it.

There’s an old poem that ends with the line, “I am me and you are you, and if by chance we find each other – it’s beautiful.” Wayne and I “found” each other over thirty years ago. Since then, he has been there to rejoice with me on the mountain-tops and walk with me through the valleys. We have loved, laughed, cried,...

Wayne Copeland was my best friend and like a brother in many ways. As a paramedic I shared the same station as Wayne, living together, working together. He was a good cook and fire officer, but most of all a good man and good friend. As our friendship grew, we found we shared many interests such as scouting and our love for the outdoors.

Knowing I loved fishing, he asked me about hunting. I explained I had hunted birds, rabbits, and squirrels before, but never big game. He...

Wayne and I graduated Olympic High School together, but not before he taught me how to drive his 3 in the floor Camaro. Neither of us wanted to go to the high school prom, but just hung out together that night, and went to an after party. I lost track of Wayne until I discovered one of his business cards at the Tega Cay Marina store about 20 years later. I kept the card as he owned a taxidermy business.

I actually caught a cat fish one day, and no one was around to see it. I called...