Edward C. Copelin

Edward C. Copelin, 93, of Lantana, Florida, passed away on June 17, 2024. Born on February 16, 1931, in Philadelphia, PA, Edward was an excellent bridge player, devoted Bobby Sox softball coach, community college and high school Chemistry teacher, research geochemist, dedicated husband, and father.
Edward grew up in Northeast Philadelphia, and played baseball and football in high school. Since he lacked the size to compete in either sport in college, he shifted his attention to academics and truly excelled. In the 1948 all-city academics rankings, he placed second and was awarded a full scholarship to Pennsylvania State University. Upon graduation, he attended Purdue University, earned his PhD in Chemistry, with cum laude distinction.
In 1956, Ed married Nella Styler of Oasis, UT, and, after completing his studies at Purdue, he accepted a job as a research chemist with Union Oil (now Unocal) in Brea, California. Nella and Ed settled into their 51-year marriage as longtime residents of Fullerton, California. Soon, they were parents of two daughters: Kathy Copelin, a resident of Lake Worth, and Lisa Daly, of Anaheim, CA.
In 1969, after Kathy announced she wanted to play Bobby Sox softball, Ed was drafted as coach. He was hooked immediately, and began a two-decade chapter of teaching girls and young women how to play the game and, more importantly, how to work together, root for one another, and think and act as a team. Decades later, many of his former players and fellow coaches described the powerful influence of his coaching. Ed took great pride in the long term success of the players, and in teaching the sport in a way that allowed each player to understand every nuance.
In 1986, Ed opted for early retirement, and shifted his professional focus from Union Oil to teaching Chemistry first at Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, then to Mount San Antonio College in Covina, where he taught Chemistry until the age of 79. He delighted in sharing his passion for science, and encouraged students to grow toward their full potential.
Ed was a devoted husband to Nella and cared for her until her death in 2007. In 2010, he relocated to South Florida. Later that year, with the help of his daughter-in-law, JoAnn Ferrieri, teaching him the ins-and-outs of Match.com, he met Anita Chakin. Ed and Anita traveled Europe, visited their families on both U.S. coasts, and enjoyed events at the Kravis Center throughout the next 14 years. Ed would call his eighties the best decade of his life.
A lifelong and accomplished bridge player, Ed enjoyed playing both social and duplicate bridge and, in his later years, taught bridge to new players at his retirement community.
Throughout his life, those who met and knew Ed described him as kind and attentive, with an ever-present keen sense of humor.
In addition to his daughters and Kathy's wife, JoAnn, Edward is survived by Lisa's husband, Jim, and grandchildren, Jeremy Edward Mangum and Jillian Helen Daly.
The family requests that any donations you would like to make go to Chapman University, Penn State University or Purdue University in his name.
Edward's legacy lives on through the lives he touched and the love he shared.