Sidney Copley
(August 20, 1934 - August 26, 2010)

Sidney Morris Copley, 76, of Huntington, WV, passed away Thursday, August 26, 2010, at the Emogene Dolin Jones Hospice House of Huntington after his nearly twenty-year battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Sid was born August 20, 1934, in Newtown, WV, the son of the late Cordella Sipple Copley Banks and Ted C. Banks. He is survived by his loving dedicated wife, Medria "Mickey" Hopkins Copley.In addition to his wife, Sid is survived by an aunt, Arbutus "Boo" Blankenship of Perry, FL; a sister, Elizabeth "Libby" Ball of Williamson, WV; a sister-in-law, Rosemary Wilhite of Meta, KY; three daughters, Lisa Copley Dawson (Ronald) of Lexington, KY, Christy Copley Snyder (Joe) of Chesapeake, OH, and Sydney Kaye Copley of Huntington, WV; four grandchildren, J.Garrett Snyder, Claire Snyder, Grant Snyder and Sidney Maxwell Dawson; two nephews, Steven Ball (Norma) of Los Angeles, CA, and Greg Ball of Williamson, WV; a special cousin, Elva Jean Ferguson of Proctorville, OH; his long time caregiver, Lori Henderson; Dr. Cindy Pinson; and many devoted family members and friends. Sid was a 1952 graduate of Burch High School, Delbarton, WV. He continued the family tradition of professional educators by receiving his undergraduate degree in education from Morris Harvey College (now the University of Charleston) in 1958. He furthered his educational career by obtaining a master's degree in administration from Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN) in 1961.Sid's teaching and coaching career began at Elkhorn City High School (KY). He then accepted a position at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA, as part of the teaching and coaching staff there, and, finally, returned to his beloved Mingo County in 1964 to teach and coach at Red Jacket Jr. High and Burch High School. He served as the principal of Burch High School and retired as the attendance director of Mingo County. In addition to his teaching and coaching positions, he refereed basketball and football for 31 consecutive years for southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. Visitation will be held at Chapman Mortuary, Huntington, from to 6 to 8 pm on Saturday, August 28, 2010. The funeral service will take place at Grace Gospel Church at 2 pm on Sunday, August 29, 2010. Burial will follow at White Chapel Memorial Gardens, Barboursville, WV. In lieu of flowers, friends may consider a donation to the missionary fund at Grace Gospel Church, the Emogene Dolin Jones Hospice House of Huntington, or the Alzheimer's Association.