Benny Jerold Copeland

Benny Jerold Copeland was born in Meeker, Oklahoma November 9, 1939, to Martin Walter and Bessie Copeland. He died on December 7, 2024, in Oklahoma City.

He is survived by his wife, Virginia Greer Copeland, two sons, David Copeland of North Carolina and Robert Lee Copeland of Oklahoma City, and a daughter, Shari Copeland of Midwest City. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Terry Olive.

Ben lived in Meeker for several childhood years. He then spent the next years living in several towns in central and western Oklahoma before moving to Midwest City where he and his mother had a busy life raising a variety of vegetables and small livestock to sell locally. 

When Ben was fifteen years old, he and a friend joined the Oklahoma National Guard and he loved riding the train to Lawton for rifle practice. They also went to Texas for training. Perhaps this early experience influenced his decision to join the United States Marine Corps at the age of seventeen. 

After retiring from the Marine Corps, Ben returned to Midwest City. His experience in helicopter maintenance and electronics while in the Corps led to work as a maintenance engineer for Safeway and Braum's manufacturing plants.

While in the Marine Corps, Ben purchased a 40-acre tract of land in Lincoln County. He and his family spent time each summer clearing the land, and once he retired from the Corps, he built a home and raised a variety of livestock. He later sold the land and moved back to Midwest City, where he lived until moving to Oklahoma City.