. Rocky K. Copley Esq

1955 - 2020

Rocky K. Copley, Esq. February 1, 1955 - February 22, 2020 San Diego He was a bruising 6-foot-9 high school All-American basketball player, and he could be a bulldog in the courtroom passionately and articulately arguing a case. That was one side of Rocky Copley.But his true essence was away from the two kinds of courts he occupied, at a picnic or barbeque or other casual outing, when he lifted his guitar from its case, pulled the strap over his shoulder, and began gently running his long fingers across its strings. Conversations would quiet, horseshoes would stop clinking, and everyone would gather around the giant minstrel to hear him sing in that soft, soulful voice. "At any social event with our friends and family, they would always ask if Rocky would bring his guitar," says his wife, Patty. "Everyone loved to sing with and dance to his music." The music stopped for Copley in late February at his home in La Jolla, after a long battle with a rare form of bone cancer. He was 65.Husband, father, basketball player, coach, attorney, guitarist, wine enthusiast, kayak fisherman, triathlete, golfer One of his close friends put it like this: "There will never be another Rocky. No way."Rocky Kent Copley was born in Rabat, Morocco, on February. 1, 1955, the son of Joyce Peterson and Melvin Copley, a pilot in the U.S. Air Force based there at the time. He spent most of his formative years in Hampton, Va., with two brothers, Jerry and Tony Copley, and a sister, Tonya Monfort. He was a basketball star from Kecoughtan High School recruited by legendary coach Norm Stewart to play for the University of Missouri. He transferred and completed his career at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.; there's a photo of him, with a curly mop of hair, playing against the famed North Carolina Tar Heels.While in college, he met Patricia Cantwell at his parent's house in Hampton, Va. They were married in 1979 in Washington, D.C., and recently celebrated their 40th anniversary. They had a son, Patrick, and twin daughters, Erin and Caitlin.The next stop was the University of the Pacific's McGeorge Law School in Sacramento, where he received a Juris Doctor in 1981. He was hired by Borton, Petrini & Conron, and spent a few years in Santa Maria before opening the firm's regional office in San Diego in 1986, eventually becoming a senior partner.For the past 15 years, he had his own civil litigation practice in downtown San Diego, specializing in personal injury, wrongful termination, sexual harassment and discrimination, and complex insurance cases the big man representing the little guy.He was well known in the San Diego legal community for his height, for his engaging personality and for his incisive arguments before juries and judges. He achieved an AV peer review rating from the Martindale-Hubble International Law Directory, a prestigious acknowledgment of legal excellence based on confidential opinions from practicing attorneys and members of the judiciary. He was a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and a Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBOTA). He had several published decisions that set legal precedents, had cases reported in the newspaper and regularly lectured on various legal topics.Another subset of the San Diego community knew him for none of that, though. He was a popular figure in local adult basketball leagues, as much for his post moves and endearing sense of humor. One year, while celebrating victory in the championship game at a pizza restaurant, he noticed the losing team was there as well, went to the jukebox, and playfully selected "We are the Champions" by Queen. Then he bought them a pitcher of beer.Copley also was a member of the La Jolla Winery, a group of wine enthusiasts that leases a vineyard in northern San Diego County to grow Zinfandel, Sangiovese, and Petite Syrah grapes. He lugged the sea kayak from the side of the house and went fishing. He competed in triathlons. He played golf. He was a volunteer girls basketball coach at La Jolla High School.And then there were his guitars. He taught himself how to play as a teen and dedicated a room to them at his house. He played wherever, whenever, in happy times and sad."Several times, he volunteered to sing and play guitar at the annual blood drive organized for the San Diego legal community," an attorney wrote. "When my husband was on life support after a sudden cardiac arrest in 2011, Rocky sat playing guitar at the courthouse steps with a jar and a picture of us to raise money for George's medical expenses." Invariably, people stopped what they were doing and listened to the giant minstrel with the soft, soulful voice.A service at All Hallows Catholic Church in La Jolla is pending. Information about dates can be found at dignitymemorial.com. The family requests that memorial contributions be made to sarctrials.com, a research center to find treatments for sarcoma cancers, and guitarsintheclassroom.org.