Verlyn R. Copeland

Verlyn Copeland was born in a log house in Maries County, MO on a 105° day, July 26, 1936, during the hottest summer on record. Without electricity, indoor plumbing and growing up on a farm, Verlyn became a hard working perfectionist, learning several musical instruments by the age of 13, including piano, fiddle & guitar. He mastered the art of "fingerpicking" on the guitar, playing rhythm & lead simultaneously, a style made famous by Merle Travis, as well as the technical playing style of Chet Atkins. Understanding electronics became easy as well. Verlyn was hand making walkie talkies with a range of nearly a mile and making battery chargers so he could listen to the Grand Old Opry. He even had his own AM radio frequency in which he broadcasted his guitar picking to the small town of Slater, MO. Disassembling something generally meant that by the time it was put back together it was modified and improved. By the age of 17 he had built a violin from the wood of some cabinets in an old farm house, carving out the detail with a knife and sanding it smooth with a piece of glass. He would go on building several guitars with very intricate inlays & designs. Hard work was the norm for a farm boy and at an early age, Verlyn became resourceful at finding ways to make money by doing hired hand work at neighboring farms and trapping rabbits and selling the furs. Mechanic work on engines also was very easy for Verlyn, as was construction, roofing, cabinetry, farming, welding, plumbing, masonry, concrete, appliance repair, TV repair, etc. Moving off the farm to live with his oldest brother Kenneth in Slater, Missouri in July 1954, Verlyn started a 5 year shoe trade starting at the International Shoe factory in Slater, then moving to Saint Louis to live with his brother Allen around 1956 and working at the Hamilton Shoe Factory on Olive street downtown Saint Louis.Joining the army in October 1959, Verlyn was stationed in Korea. As a radio relay and Carrier Operator, his army experience was very smooth. Returning to the states in February 1962 and Honorably Discharged after 3 years of reserves in September 1965. Verlyn loved to travel the states by vehicle, as nothing was better than watching the countryside change through the view of the windshield. Traveling to all 48 states by automobile and the other 2 states by cruise line, Verlyn's favorite destination was the western states, which he visited the most.On his return from the Army, Verlyn worked at the Ford Factory and at a TV repair shop on Delmar Boulevard for the next 19 months. In November 1963, Verlyn Hired on at McDonnell Douglas, where he remained for 33 years. While living with his brother Allen on McPherson Avenue in Saint Louis, Verlyn was introduced to Rebecca Glasgow by her brother William Glasgow and his niece Bonnie Payne for a double date in February 1962. This started a friendship that lasted until December 1963, he then married Rebecca on June 20th 1964. A family was started in June 1965 with the birth of Robert. His devotion as a husband and a father remained strong and un-waivered for the next 49 years. 1969 brought the move to Saint Charles and the birth of Michael in 1970, David in 1978 and Sandra in 1982.