COPPS — If you used your smart phone to navigate your way to your friend’s house in the country last weekend or to walk or drive to a new shop (theater, dentist or veterinarian) today, you can thank Ed Copps.
Edward Copps (Coattail, Mr. Ed, Peepaw, Daddy-O, Papa San) passed away peacefully at 5:30 a.m. Oct. 29, 2022, at Brookdale Crown Point Nursing Home in Mandarin, Fla. He was 87.
Ed was born Nov. 1, 1934, in Rutland, Vt., to Edward and Ruth Copps (nee Benedict). He is survived by his wife, Nancy Bucklin Copps; son, Edward; daughter, Annie; grandchildren, James C. Love VI, Katherine “Kylie” Love, Abbigail Love and Elizabeth “Lily” Love; brother, Stephen L. Copps; and many nieces, nephews and young ones he nurtured and loved as his own. He is predeceased by his son, William, and daughter, Sarah.
He had an active and adventurous childhood. He loved fishing, swimming, hiking, camping, hunting and skiing in the mountains and lakes that surrounded him in his beloved Vermont. He attended Mount St. Joseph Academy, where he played football and was an altar boy (albeit a mischievous one) at Christ the King Church.
He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), where he received academic honors for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity.
While working at the RCA Airborne Systems Lab, he met the love of his life, Nancy Bucklin, who also worked there as a technical librarian – on their first date, they canoed the Charles River. Ed and Nancy were married 64 years, had four children and later four grandchildren.
Ed Copps had a high-profile and important career, but was modest and insisted his work was a success because of collaboration and inclusivity.
At 24, he began working at the Instrumentation Lab at M.I.T. He went on to lead the teams that created and operated the guidance systems for the early Polaris missile programs and later the world-changing Apollo moon projects. In 1969, he and seven of his colleagues founded Intermetrics, where among many groundbreaking projects, they developed the software for NASA’s space shuttle and created the HAL/S programming language (named for his co-worker and friend Hal Lanning). Ed Copps’ work also led to him earning the soft title of “the Father of GPS.”
He loved his family and many of his favorite moments were at the large dinner table with his family and friends from next door and around the world, laughing, telling stories, enjoying good food and wine. Ed was a shy man who chose his words carefully. He had a bone-dry sense of humor and incredible timing with his jokes, stories and practical jokes.
He was an animal lover and was fond of the many cats, dogs, gerbils, turtles and mice that lived with him. He was particularly fond of his dogs Archie, Rico, and his verygoodboy, Brady.
He traveled extensively around the United States, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and always sought out the small towns and the best foods of the many cultures he respected and was so curious about. He and his family lived in Arlington, Mass.; Marblehead, Mass.; Laguna Beach, Calif.; Bremen, Germany; Vienna, Va., and St Marys, Ga.
Ed Copps was a fierce, but genial sportsman who competed his International One Design wooden sailboats (his wife, Nancy, as first mate); collected cars and once raced cars with the Aga Khan; flew small airplanes; was an avid runner, cyclist, advanced (and elegant) skier and tennis player; loved cooking (his sourdough loaves were perfected decades before the pandemic); and he attempted to learn to speak different languages (with mixed success, which led to, at best, interesting outcomes). He loved music. John Denver and Judy Collins brought tears to his eyes, and he was particularly fond of live classical and opera performances. He was especially moved by Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony.
He played the violin, accordion and piano, and was particularly fond of Pachelbel’s “Canon in ‘D’” – he was indifferent about the piano being tuned or not.
He was a progressive Democrat who was quick to share and debate his views, and was respectful and patient of others who disagreed, mostly.
Ed was diagnosed with dementia/Alzheimer’s disease in fall 2020. He managed very well for a long time – exercising, playing cards, doing puzzles and waiting patiently for his daily 5 p.m. martini (turned water with a splash of gin). When the weather was warm, he made his way to the pool with the encouraging cheers of the always supportive Osprey Cove Women’s Water Aerobics (the Mermaids) group.
His health took some turns this August. After a long hospital stay, he was not able to return to his home, and he transitioned to a long-term skilled nursing home where he charmed the staff who took to him right away and calling him “Rocketman.”
He had a long happy life that he lived on his own terms.
There will be private ceremonies in St Marys, Ga., and Rutland, Vt.