Carl Williams Copenhaver

Carl Williams Copenhaver (everybody called him Copey) died on Monday, August 18, 2025 as a result of a freak accident while visiting friends and family in Ohio. He was 73.

He was born in Willard, Ohio, but grew up in Norwalk. Copey was born a sailor, he just didn't know it. When he was a young adult, he caught the bug sailing on Lake Erie. It eventually led him to the Florida Keys where he bought his first sailboat.

After a few years in Key West, he sailed off to the Bahamas, primarily the Abaco chain. He lived on his boat on and off for a while in Hopetown Harbor making many lifelong friends along the way.

Copey returned to Florida in 1980 and sailed into a newly opened marina called "Fisherman's Village' in Punta Gorda and never left. It was at 'Fishville' that he met his future wife Becky. They were married in 1990, naturally, on their sailboat 'Kama' in Charlotte Harbor. 2 years later, a son, Noah was born and raised on the boat the first year of his life. Copey and Becky eventually bought a forever home on Palm Avenue and life was good.

Copey had such a sense of adventure. We had sailing trips, camping and fish shack weekends but anything that was new or different interested Copey. Wonderful years rolled by and Noah got married and he and Tarquin blessed us with 2 grandboys, Becklan, and Gaelle, so the legacy will live on.

Copey was such a unique individual, truly a character who led an interesting life, with stories to tell, right up until the end. He was a kind and caring husband, a fully involved and devoted father and grandfather and became a friend to almost anyone who ever met him.

His brother Larry and wife Barb will miss him as will his cousins (and he has a ton of them), extended family and hundreds of friends from all walks of life. He's joining his parents Carl and Marge along with a line of passed family members and sadly, many good friends, but he's in a place that God has prepared for him, he just went sooner than anyone would have liked. He lived a full life and died with, I'm sure, no regrets.

There will be a Farewell Celebration on Sunday, September 14 at the Punta Gorda Womens Club, 118 Sullivan St. Punta Gorda from 2:00-5:00. All are welcome.