Stuart W. Copeland

Stuart W. Copeland NORFOLK - Stuart William Copeland, 72, of "Poplar Hall" on Stuart Circle, passed away March 1, 2009. Born Jan. 12, 1937, in Norfolk, he was the son of the late William Baker Copeland and Elsie Randall Stewart. Stuart was a retired congressional investigator for the Inspector General at Fleet Forces, U.S. Navy Headquarters Command; a retired vice president for Crestar Bank; and a retired captain in the United States Navy Supply Corps Reserves. He graduated from Woodberry Forest School in Orange, Va., in 1955; Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden Sydney, Virginia in 1959; Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I. in 1960; and Navy Supply Corps School in Athens, Ga., in 1961. He was a member of the Theta Chi Fraternity, the Norfolk German Club and a former member of the Virginia Club and the Town Point Club. Stuart was a lifelong member of Christ & St. Luke's Episcopal Church where he taught Sunday school, ushered, served numerous terms on the vestry, and until the time of his death was a trustee of the church. He was a member of Charles P. Morton Masonic Lodge No. 232, the Norfolk Scottish Rite Bodies and the Khedive Shrine Center. Stuart was an active volunteer with many civic organizations having served on the Board of Family Service of Tidewater, now the Upcenter; and the Board of Lake Taylor Hospital. In the 1970s, he was very in involved in the Ghent Neighborhood League and served as president of the league. Stuart is survived by his wife of 49 years, Mary Pembroke Lewis Copeland; two daughters, Mary Stuart Copeland Alfano and her husband William D. Alfano of Chapel Hill, N.C., and Mallory Copeland Kahler of Portsmouth; and four grandchildren, Louisa Ann Alfano, Stuart William Alfano, Hunter Copeland Kahler and Mary Pembroke Kahler. A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in Christ & St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 560 W. Olney Road, Norfolk, by the Rev. Jess H. Stribling. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: the Elsie Randall Stewart Copeland Trust for the benefit of Christ & St. Luke's Episcopal Church, c/o The Hampton Roads Community Foundation, One Commercial Place, Suite 1410, Norfolk, VA 23510-2103. Arrangements are being handled by H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Norfolk Chapel. Online condolences may be offered to the family through www.hdoliver.com.