Hazel Copeland's Obituary
Hazel Ruth Copeland, daughter of Elmo and Stella Mary (Sharp) Sanders, was born July 8, 1934, in Newport, Arkansas. She departed this life Tuesday, September 23, 2008, in St. John’s Regional Health Center, in Springfield, Missouri, at the age of seventy-four years, two months and fifteen days.
On December 29, 1954 she was united in marriage to Vernon Carroll Copeland and to this union one daughter and one son was born.
She was preceded in death by her parents; and a brother, A.J. Slayden.
Ruth is survived by her husband, Vernon, of the home; two children, Nancy Ruth Stauder, and her husband, Jim, of St. Louis, Missouri, and Mark Jay Copeland, of Lewiston, Idaho; four grandchildren, Rusty, Randy, Nathan, and Taylor; two sisters, Helen Slusher, of Seymour, Missouri, and Catherine Griffith, of Batesville, Arkansas; a number of nieces and nephews; as well as a host of other relatives and many dear friends.
She was born and raised in Arkansas and attended high school in Kansas City, Missouri. After graduating from high school she worked as a long distance telephone operator. While living in Kansas City she met Vernon and they were later married in Viola, Arkansas. Ruth and Vernon lived for many years in Rogersville, Missouri, where she worked as a cook at the elementary school. After other moves, they settled back in Seymour, Missouri in 1992, where she spent time as a bookkeeper for Internal Medicine Group, in Springfield.
Ruth had made her profession of faith in Christ and was a member of the First Baptist Church, in Seymour, where she was also an active member of the Women’s Missionary Union.
She loved cooking and spending time with her family. She also enjoyed camping in their trailer at Truman Lake. In her spare time she liked to travel, taking numerous bus tours and a special trip to Israel. Ruth loved the Christmas season and all the decorations that go along with it. One of her favorite things to do was taking walks at the farm with the grandkids and “Buddy” her dog, and taking the grandkids to the dollar store.
Ruth was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt and was a caring neighbor and friend. We celebrate her life and accomplishments and will cherish the wonderful memories she has created for her family and friends.
Funeral services for Hazel Ruth Copeland will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, September 27, 2008 in the First Baptist Church of Seymour with burial in the Seymour Masonic Cemetery, under the direction of the Holman-Howe Funeral Home of Seymour.
Visitation will be from 7-8:30 p.m. Friday evening in the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society in care of the funeral home @ P.O. Box 366, Seymour, Missouri 65746
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