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Eugene Hill Copeland was born September 19, 1920, in Long Beach, CA, and died of natural causes on April 26, 2006, in Albuquerque, NM. A Memorial Service will be held at the First Unitarian Church, 3701 Carlisle Blvd. NE, on May 21, 2006 at 5:00 p.m. Gene was the only son of Eugene Gentry Copeland and Edith Bell Hill Copeland. When his mother died, Eugene went to live with his uncle, Ira Copeland's family. His cousins, Virginia and Mary Jean were like sisters to him. Later, he lived again with his father and new wife, Helen Copeland. Gene attended Texas A & M, where he played saxophone in the marching band and earned a degree in engineering. In World War II he served in Europe with the Army's 266nd engineering battalion. He married Olive Marie Seaberry, a Texas Christian University graduate, in 1946. After study in Switzerland on the GI bill, he and his wife moved to Manhattan, KS, where Gene taught engineering at Kansas State University. The couple moved to Albuquerque in 1951 and Gene began a thirty year career with Sandia Laboratories. During this time, he earned a Master's in Economics from UNM. Gene and Marie were members of the First Congregational Church and later the First Unitarian Church. They raised their three children in Albuquerque. Gene was an active member of the Albuquerque, NM FREEZE campaign, aimed at halting the nuclear arms race. In that capacity he helped produce a book of John Trevor's political cartoons, First Strike. Following his retirement in 1982, Gene continued pursuing silver-smithing and photography. In 1985 he moved to Topeka, KS, where his wife, Marie, was already residing. The couple enjoyed many years there, traveling in their camper-truck and taking Elder Hostel trips abroad. Gene also volunteered on wilderness maintenance programs with the Sierra Club and was a regular volunteer at the Topeka Veterans Hospital. Last October, the couple moved back from Topeka to Albuquerque. Gene was a resident in an assisted living facility when he died. He is survived by his wife, Marie Copeland, of Albuquerque; two sons, Robert Copeland, of Albuquerque, and Joe Copeland, a.k.a. R.U. Kidding, of Las Vegas, NV; one daughter, Liz Copeland, of Portland, OR; one granddaughter, Hannah Bluhm, of New York City; and his cousin, Mary Jean Trayne, of Hollywood, CA. We remember him with great love and advise that contributions to any conservation or abortion rights organization, including the National Resources Defense Council and Pro Kan Do, would be a fitting remembrance of him.
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