Thomas Sargent Coppin

Thomas Sargent Coppin, aka The Werther’s Man or Mr. Tom, age 85, of Calabash, NC passed away peacefully January 26, at Bishop Spencer Place in Kansas City, MO. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 8 1937 to the late Daniel Charles Coppin and Anna Ivy Sargent.

Tom grew up in Jefferson City, Missouri and attended high school at La Salette Seminary (MO) and graduated from Lincoln University (MO). Tom served in Army Military Intelligence for 10 years at Fort Benning, GA; Fort Bragg, NC; Monterey CA; Ankara, Turkey; Washington, D.C., Vietnam and Baltimore, MD. He received the Meritorious Service Medal while with the Army Intelligence Command. After serving with the Army, he worked with The District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency, The Energy Administration, Presidential Commission on the Records and Documents of Federal Officials and the Department of Agriculture. Tom retired to Calabash, NC in 1994. During retirement, he wrote a book, Recipes and Other Stories.

Tom was preceded in death by daughter Lisa Ivy; sister, Mary Danna Duffy; and wife Judith Irene Dodge Coppin. His first marriage was to Norma Jean Hertzing and from that marriage they had four children who were his world. Tom is survived by his children Catherine Ann Zeigler (Jim), Daniel Glenn Coppin and Michelle Eileen McGowan (Brian); youngest sister Susan Katherine Ivy Borgmeyer; grandchildren Andrew (Sara) Zeigler, Kyle (Ellie) Zeigler, Reed Hoeferlin and Grace McGowan and Gabrielle McGowan; and nieces and nephews Anne Duffy (Derral), Ivy Hendrix (Chris), Brian Borgmeyer (Sarah); Erin Duffy-Osswald (John) and Joshua Thomas Borgmeyer; and many dear friends.

A Celebration of Life will be held 1-3 p.m., Sunday, March 19 at Andy's Snak Shak, 5211 N. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, SC.

Interment, with military honors, will take place at 1 p.m., Friday, March 24 at Jefferson City National Cemetery. A celebration of life will be held in the Myrtle Beach area in the near future. Arrangements are under the care of McGilley Memorial Chapel Midtown, Kansas City, MO. Condolences may be offered at www.mcgilleymidtownchapel.com for the Coppin family.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial contribution to the Alano Club of Myrtle Beach, P.O. Box 7193, Myrtle Beach, SC 29572

The family wishes to thank the staff at Bishop Spencer Place, Kansas City, MO and Tidelands Rehab and Waccamaw Community Hospital, Murrells Inlet, SC for the dedicated and loving care Tom received during his recent illnesses.