Arthur H. Copeland

1926 - 2019

Arthur H Copeland, mathematician, dead at 92

Known for his dry wit, exceptional courteousness-in fact, gallantry-and his quiet intellectuality, Art Copeland was also an ingenious do-it-yourselfer, a supporter of the arts, and a lover of tractors. He died at his home in Halifax, Vermont, on Monday December 24, 2018, surrounded by friends and family. He was 92 years old.

Dr. Copeland, who held undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was a professor of mathematics who retired to Vermont in 1998 after having taught at Purdue University in Indiana, Northwestern University in Illinois, and the University of New Hampshire. His field was algebraic topology, about which he used to say it had "something to do with bagels."

Arthur Copeland joined the Navy after matriculating early at the University of Michigan in a special arrangement with Cranbrook Academy, where he had been a scholarship student. The year was 1944, and he had just turned 18. He entered a Radio Tech program and was eventually sent to sea on a communications ship.

Arthur Herbert Copeland, Jr., was born on June 11, 1926, in the West family home in Columbus, TX. His father, Arthur Herbert Copeland, Sr., was a mathematics professor, and his mother, Dorothy Eleanor (West) Copeland, was a gifted artist who designed the family's ultra-modern house in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Arthur and his wife of 71 years, Lynda (Peltz) Copeland, purchased their Vermont farmhouse in 1959, having been drawn to the area by the fame of Rudolf Serkin and his Marlboro Music summer festival. After their retirement to that comfortable yellow-painted, black-shuttered house in 1998, Art joined the festival's board of trustees.

Besides his wife, Lynda, whom he married in 1947, Arthur Copeland is survived by three daughters: Julia (Bruce Bransby), Heidi (Tom) Schmitt, and Laurel (John Zeber), as well as grandchildren Kamala, Katrina, Derek, Alyssa, Julian, Nikolaus, and Thea, and three great-grandchildren (Alex Lyn, Evelinn, and Navia).

A celebration is planned for summer 2019. Memorial contributions may be made to the Youth Orchestras of Fresno.

Ker-Phaneuf Funeral Home and Crematorium is assisting the family with arrangements. To view an online memorial, leave a message of condolence, or for more information please go to www.phaneuf.net