Mike Copple always drove a Jeep, but rarely took his 1949 metallic blue convertible Jeepster on the streets of Papillion.
“It was his baby,” said Warren Stinson, Ph.D., UNMC emeritus associate professor of cell biology and anatomy. “He kept it in pristine condition.”
Dr. Stinson saw it driven only once — the wedding day of Copple’s daughter, Jennie. “He was nervous about it the whole time,” Dr. Stinson said.
Copple, director of the Nebraska State Anatomical Board, died Monday (March 18) of complications from diabetes. He was 56.
The seven-member state anatomical board, which serves UNMC and Creighton University’s medical and dental colleges, sets policies, budgets and promotes the anatomical donation program. In 1975, the anatomical board received about 25 donor bodies a year. Today, it receives about 150.
“Mike Copple was a friend and colleague to the anatomists in the State of Nebraska for over two decades,” said Tom Quinn, M.D., president of the anatomical board and professor of anatomy and surgery at Creighton University. “He was instrumental in making the anatomical donation program in Nebraska a success. Mike was conscientious and diligent in his care for those who donated their bodies so that the living may have a better life. Faculty and students throughout the state owe him a debt of gratitude for the service he provided despite his own failing health.”
Syndey Clausen, a coordinator in the department of cell biology and anatomy, worked with Copple for six years. “Mike was very helpful and always willing to help out in any way he could,” he said. “He loved to go to Colorado on vacation. He also loved his Jeeps. He will be missed by everyone in the department.”
Hired by Dr. Stinson, Copple joined UNMC on July 21, 1975 as funeral director in the department of cell biology and anatomy.
“Mike was a pretty common sense guy,” Dr. Stinson said. “He did a darn good job and was a credit to the university. He’s going to be very sorely missed.”
A licensed embalmer, Copple did his pre-mortuary study at Midwestern College in Denison, Iowa, Dana College in Blair, Neb., and Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He received his associate of arts in mortuary administration in 1973 from John A. Gupton College in Nashville, Tenn., and later received a bachelor’s degree in continuing studies from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1983.
Friends remember the ever-cordial Copple’s dry sense of humor, his battle with diabetes and his strong work ethic. The Logan, Iowa, native served in the Navy from 1965 to 1968 and was once a licensed barber.
Copple is survived by his wife, Mary Jane; son and daughter-in-law, Jay and Andria of LaVista; daughter and son-in-law, Jennie and Rob Cohee of LaVista; brother, Jim Copple of California; mother-in-law, Gretchen Bolton of Papillion; aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
Funeral services will be Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Bethany Funeral Home, 82nd and Harrison Sts. Cremation will follow. Visitation will begin Friday at 3 p.m.