Obituary of Barbara F. Copeland

BEDFORD, MA - Barbara F. Copeland, 85, of 106 Old Billerica Road, formerly of Pittsburgh, PA, Naples, FL and Chautauqua, NY, died Monday, May 18, 2009, at the Hospice of the North Shore in Danvers, Massachusetts. She was born June 29, 1923 in Pittsburgh, PA, a daughter of the late Roger and Helen Pitcairn Findley, and graduated in 1944 from Chatham College. She lived most of her life in Pittsburgh with her husband James D. Copeland, until they retired to Naples, FL. She spent summers in Chautauqua, NY for more than 50 years. Barbara was an artist who worked in various media, including needlework, sand casting, watercolor, pastels, acrylics, and oils. She was especially noted for her pen-and-ink drawings and received hundreds of commissions for her drawings of homes. Throughout her life, in creative ways, she shared her eye for color and design with her community. Barbara was known and loved as a wonderful friend, mother and wife, a gifted writer, and a witty and perceptive commentator of life. Surviving are her daughter, Anne Copeland of Brookline, MA and son, David Copeland of Pittsburgh, PA; a grandson, James D. Copeland III of New York City; two granddaughters, Caroline Womack of Chicago, IL, and Katherine Womack of Brookline, MA; daughter-in-law Stephanie Copeland of Stockbridge, MA; and son-in-law, James Womack of Brookline, MA. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, James D. Copeland, whom she married October 12, 1946 and who died June 25, 1998; and a son, James D. Copeland, Jr. who died in 1980. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 20th, in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd at Chautauqua Institution. The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell will officiate. Burial will be in the Chautauqua Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the James and Barbara Copeland Scholarship Fund at Chautauqua Institution, PO Box 28, Chautauqua, NY 14722. Funeral arrangements are by the Lind Funeral Home.