November 21, 1924 - June 16, 2020

Long-time Pateros resident Jean Copple passed into the presence of her Savior on June 16, 2020.  She was born into a pioneer family in a log cabin in Curlew, Washington on November 21, 1924, to Charles and Lucile Farnsworth.  Her birth, along with four of her siblings, was attended by the local midwife.  She was the fifth of six siblings with whom she maintained a close and loving relationship all her life.  Their 260-acre dryland farm was located on a mountain very near the Canadian border.  There was no electricity or running water, and the cabin was divided down the middle by a wall to provide a bedroom.  The kids had to ride their horses to school in town.  Despite the primitive living conditions, life in Curlew was, in the words of Jean’s mother Lucile, “the happiest time of my life”.

But several dry years forced the family to move off the farm and they relocated to Spokane when she was four years old.  There, Charles worked as the manager of a dairy farm.  In mid-May of 1930, however, he fell ill with pneumonia, and died suddenly, leaving Lucile alone with 6 children, ages 2 to 17, and no income.  Lucile’s sister had 5 acres of land in Clarkston, and made a place for the family to live. They managed to scrape by with a lot of home-grown food and eventually some government assistance.   Despite the hardships of the Great Depression, Jean cherished the memories of her years in Clarkston,

She graduated from Clarkston High School and worked as a secretary at the Hanford Reservation.  She then moved to Omak to live with her sister Alice’s family and work as a legal secretary.  There, she met her future husband Clark Copple at the Presbyterian church in Omak where she sang in the choir and he played the organ.  They were married on June 8, 1948, on the day when the Methow and Okanogan Rivers were overflowing their banks in a record flood.  Jean said that they were late to her own wedding because of this. After a honeymoon in Vancouver, BC, they moved to Pateros where he was the manager of the Methow Pateros Growers.  Their three children, Bonnie, Peggie and Brian were raised there.

Jean talked often about her early involvement with Junior Women, a community service organization; she had great times working with them.  For many years, she also directed the church choir at the Pateros Methodist Church, where Clark played the organ.  She had a lovely soprano voice, and often sang at local weddings and funerals.

Since childhood, Jean was an avid horsewoman.  She spent many happy hours on horseback in the hills surrounding Pateros, riding for fun or helping family friends round up their cattle.  She and Bonnie, the other primary horse lover in the family, saw a series of horses come and go through the family, nothing fancy but good riding horses.  Then, on a whim one day, she purchased “Bo”, a beautiful black half-Arab, at a livestock auction.  He was the most beautiful and highly trained horse the family ever owned, and gave them all lots of good rides and happy times.

 In later years, Jean also enjoyed taking Sunday afternoon motorbike rides up into the hills with her family, especially looking for patches of wildflowers in the upper meadows where there were some cooler spots.

 She also loved to bowl, and was good at it.  She and Clark were on an area bowling league for many years.  And playing cards was always a favored entertainment for Jean and Clark; many Sunday afternoon visits with her sisters and their spouses found them playing pinochle.

She worked seasonally for many years in the apple packing sheds at various jobs, and always enjoyed the stimulation of work and her coworkers.  When her children were older, she worked for many years as a secretary to the principal of Pateros High School.  This was an ideal job for her, as it required intelligence, skill, and a good instinct for working within a larger organization.

After retirement, Jean and Clark moved to Monroe in 1988 to be nearer to their children and grandchildren.  Clark had been diagnosed with cancer before their move, and his condition very gradually deteriorated, but not before he had a chance to see and love his four grandchildren.  After Clark’s death in 1992, Jean moved in with Brian’s family and was thoroughly enveloped by the love of her family. 

Jean’s body began to misfire late in 2019, showing the wear and tear of 95 years.  She struggled with severe osteoporosis, and then dementia began to take over.  Tragically, in the midst of her decline, the COVID crisis hit, which prevented her from being admitted to a nursing facility.  So Brian and his wife Debbie stepped up their commitment and continued to care for her at home, a job which required much personal sacrifice and energy, which they gladly gave. 

Jean will be remembered for her good sense of humor, her love of reading her Bible, driving, fall colors, family vacations to Grayland, and especially her grandchildren.

Jean is survived by her children:  Bonnie (Bill) Owens of Littleton, NC; Peggie (Chuck) Venemon of Buckley; Brian (Debbie) Copple of Sultan; sister Dorothy Thompson of Wenatchee; four grandchildren: Emily, Braden, Paige, and Laura; and numerous nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her siblings Alice Brown, Dick Farnsworth and Mildred Rew.  Her sister Betty Erickson died just five days after Jean. 

The family would love to see your comments here on Jean’s memory page.

FUNERAL INFORMATION

A Celebration of Life will be announced later. 

DONATIONS

In lieu of flowers, donations in Jean’s name may be made to the Sultan Education Foundation or Sultan Arts Council (both c/o Sultan Visitor’s Center, P.O. Box 46, Sultan, WA  98294;), Moody Bible Institute (820 N. LaSalle Blvd., Chicago, IL  60610), or the charity of your choice.