Julie Copeland

Julie Copeland: my wife, my best friend, and my Bible study partner; Nathan’s mom; Matthew’s mom; Doug and Karen’s daughter; Jill’s sister and Dave’s sister-in-law; granddaughter of Virginia; Charlie and Gale’s daughter-in-law; Jonathan and Michelle’s sister-in-law; Kathy, Dan, Donna, Donnie, and Joyce’s niece; Christopher, Laura, and Jonathan’s cousin; Douglas IV and Christine’s aunt; and friend of many.

Julie, a native Texan, was born in 1974. She spent her childhood years in San Antonio. On August 7, 1985, Julie made the greatest decision of her life. On that day, she trusted Jesus to save her from her sins (John 3:16 – “For this is the way God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life”). On that Wednesday, eternity changed for Julie. She no longer faced the eternal consequences of sin – separation from God. At that moment of faith, she went from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive. Death will never be victorious over her (1 Corinthians 15:53-57 – “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”).

Julie was actively involved in church as a teenager (Castle Hills First Baptist Church) and continued to grow in her relationship with the Lord while studying dietetics and hotel and restaurant management at Texas Tech. While a student, she was actively involved in her church (First Baptist Lubbock) and became quite the evangelist. After graduating from Texas Tech, Julie returned to San Antonio to complete her dietetic internship at the University of the Incarnate Word. During her internship, she became involved in the singles ministry at Castle Hills First Baptist Church. It was in Sunday School that I first met Julie. She is the very definition of beauty – outwardly and inwardly. Her love for the Lord is contagious. We married in 2000 at the same church she attended in her youth, Castle Hills First Baptist Church. The past 21 years have been the greatest years of my life. Julie was a joy to be around for me and others. She made all of our lives easier and held us together. I very much look forward to worshipping Jesus again with her for all eternity (Psalm 100 – “Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with joy! Enter His presence with joyful singing! Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us and we belong to Him; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give Him thanks! Praise His name! For the Lord is good. His loyal love endures, and He is faithful through all generations.” and Revelation 21:1-4 – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more. And I saw the holy city – the new Jerusalem – descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.””). Julie would like nothing more than for you to be able to worship Jesus with her for all eternity. If you haven’t, will you please place your faith in Jesus Christ today?

Julie was an amazing dietitian. She had the rare ability to manage a healthcare facility’s entire dietary service while simultaneously providing clinical care for each resident. She managed the dietary services and provided clinical care for a special needs facility and then a nursing home. She was quickly selected to be a regional dietitcian and dietary services manager for a national healthcare corporation. She provided clinical services to residents at multiple nursing home facilities and supervised the dietary managers at each facility. Upon returning to San Antonio once again, she served as a clinical dietitian at a large downtown San Antonio hospital. Her experience and education combined with her love for family made her the greatest household manager and dietary specialist.

However, the two most important things to Julie were faith and family (Matthew 22:37-40 – “Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.””). If you were Julie’s friend, she treated you as family. Everything Julie did was a result of her love for the Lord and others. She knew just how to meaningfully impact a person both temporally and eternally.

Nathan, your mom always has and always will love you. Matthew, your mom always has and always will love you. If you ever wanted to see and hear Julie beam and talk with joy, you only needed to ask her about her boys. She loved you with everything she had. She prayed constantly for you. Although she is no longer physically with us, her prayers remain. I look forward to seeing what our Lord will do in and through you boys as a direct result of your mom’s prayers. Words fail me as I attempt to describe her love for you.

Julie, a citizen of heaven, went home to be with our Lord this February (Philippians 3:20-21 – “But our citizenship is in heaven – and we also await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform these humble bodies of ours into the likeness of His glorious body by means of that power by which He is able to subject all things to Himself”). We celebrate a life well lived – one who will hear “well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21) on March 4. It was time for Julie to depart for she fought the good fight, she finished the race, she kept the faith, and the crown of righteousness is reserved for her (2 Timothy 4:6-8). She was not taken from us too early as this would deny God’s sovereignty. Her work on earth is complete, but the work she did on earth is not complete. Her Godly example lives on. Her Godly influence lives on. Her Godly actions live on. Her Godly prayers for Nathan, Matthew, family, and friends lives on. I anticipate wonderous answers to her prayers. Never underestimate the power of a praying wife, mother, child, sister, family member, and friend. Due to Julie, our future is bright and exciting. Julie has simply fallen asleep (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – “Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians. For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”).

She will be laid to rest at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery at 9:15 am (limited to family). Services will be at our church, Community Bible Church at 11:30 am on Thursday, March 4, 2021. (open to all).

Julie was never a “flower child.” She is a ministry woman. She passionately advocated for those with special needs and actively supported the ministry of Joni and Friends (https://www.joniandfriends.org/). The link to make a donation is: https://www.joniandfriends.org/texas/. Julie also has a sister and brother-in-law that are missionaries in Mozambique, Africa with Mission Aviation Fellowship (https://maf.org/). The link to make a donation is: https://maf.org/missionaries/holmes/. In lieu of flowers, please consider furthering God’s Kingdom by donating to Joni and Friends or Mission Aviation Fellowship.

For those who would like to view the livestream of these services, please see below: