Terrence R. Coppage's Obituary
Celebrating the life of Terry Coppage: This is a celebration of Terry’s life but it is tempered by our shock and sadness at his sudden passing. As he would say, he met his peach truck. Terry liked razorback football – although not so much this last season, cardinal baseball – pretty much last season, watching Pawn Stars, Counting Cars, Bill maher and Jon Stewart and David letterman. Relaxing in the backyard- grilling dinner or making a fire in the chiminea and watching geese fly over from time to time. And sipping fine tequila. He hated Oklahoma summer heat. Liked travel to Vegas where he enjoyed playing poker, and travel to see mountains , desert or ocean in the western half of the country. Visited many national parks. Glacier national park was a favorite vacation. He loved a variety of music as long as it wasn’t country – Led Zeppelin, Plant, Page, U2, Garbage, the Clash, Interstate 55, Bad Habit, Del Castillo – travelled often through the years to see their concerts. St. Louis. Born and raised in St. Louis. He lost his father at an early age. He Helped his mom by making cakes for PTA events for her. Rode his bicycle everywhere. Worked at the orange juice factory where they let him drive a truck in the yard before he had a license and he bumped into the dock in it. Went to catholic high school dances (he attended st Mary’s) where they always had great bands with a horn section. Listened to Bob Kuban and the In men and the Jay Berry Band play on the Admiral, a large stream boat on the Mississippi River that had an arcade – he also loved playing pin ball and pool. Little Rock. When terry was 16, he was in a car accident which took the life of his mother. He suffered a broken femur, among other injuries, and was hospitalized for a while. He lived with his Aunt Jo in little rock after that and completed his sr year of high school at st Mary’s ( yes, a different st Mary’s). He then attended university of Arkansas in Fayetteville He enjoyed college life, playing pool, drinking beer and going to class some times. He picked u of a in Fayetteville because the other state school in Arkansas was in a dry county. Many college friends- Perry, Harlan, Carl, Jay. He and debby met just before their 2nd semester. Terry and his roommate were randomly calling girls from the college directory and ended up setting up a double date with her and her roommate at Minuteman (hamburger place with pool and pinball). More dates followed and As they say the rest is history. A 37 year long history. Jobs. Was part of the fork in the road restaurant in tulsa when moved here in 1976. He came up with the recipe for dough and sauce and cooked the pizza. he Worked for billiards of tulsa, Beneficial and Credit Thrift loan companies. Owned rock island, a bar with live rock music and enjoyed promoting new and well established local bands. He ran The Train Station restaurant for a short time, returning to the small loan business before establishing his bartcop.com web page. Bartcop.com. A modem, a smart mouth and the truth. Writing his web page was extremely important to Terry. He was passionate about it and he wouldn’t have wanted to be doing anything else full time. it was also very important to his readers. Marc Perkel summed up the history of bartcop.com in the last paragraph of his post: Bart was one of the first and most successful liberal bloggers. Back then Bart and I were big fish in a small pond. We inspired many other liberal websites that became far more successful and influential. We became small fish in a big pond. But Bart stayed with it for 18 years swinging the hammer of truth. People who were born in the year Bart started are now old enough to vote. He created a community and lots of people know each other through him. I believe he changed history in significant ways that will someday be discovered by supercomputers in the future. But for now we will all miss him. There have been Over 300 reader posts expressing gratitude, shock and sorrow and condolences and wishes of peace, since the notice appeared on the website. A very overwhelming, touching and much appreciated outpouring of sentiments. So as we all share a virtual shot of Chicano in celebration of the life of Terry Coppage, also fondly known as Bart Cop, we say farewell. Gone but never forgotten. Terry was born September 12, 1953 in St. Louis, Missouri to Joe and Anne Coppage and was the youngest of three children. He began his schooling at Holy Family in St. Louis and graduated from St. Mary’s in Little Rock, Arkansas before attending the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Terry married the love of his life Debby in Tulsa on November 20, 1976. Terry was quite the entrepreneur over the years. He worked in the small loan, vending/gaming and restaurant industries. Terry also owned several businesses, including Rock Island and The Train Station, before focusing his time on his current career, Bartcop.com, as a political humorist. Terry was a drummer as a young man and always enjoyed music. He and Debby often traveled to attend the concerts of some of their favorite groups. Travel, mostly to Western states, was one of Terry’s favorite things to do with Debby by his side. Northern California weather was an enjoyable destination spot as well as the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico. He also enjoyed writing, discussing politics and hanging out at home with Debby and their cats, Rusty and Dax. Terry’s motto was “have a good time every day” and he did that most of the time. He was a kind, caring and protective husband who frequently told his wife how much he loved his life, living with her and their kitties and writing the Bartcop.com web page. He was a confident, tenacious man who maybe had a little impatience in him but used those qualities to voice his views on truth and equality and provide a platform for like-minded people. Although Terry’s leukemia had not previously had a major impact on his health, he passed away suddenly, Wednesday, March 5, 2014, from pneumonia and flu complications. He is survived by his loving wife Debby, his brother Mike and wife Gayle of St. Louis, Missouri, his sister Patty and husband Wally Sieges of St. Louis; his brothers-in-law, Jeff Stephens and wife Angie of Tulsa, and Todd Stephens and wife Breanna of Houston, Texas; several nieces and nephews, several great nieces and nephews, and many friends. Memorial service will be Sunday, March 9, 2014, at 12:30 pm, in the Floral Haven Chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Terry’s memory at F&M Bank, acct: #9281096; 1330 South Harvard Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74112.
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