Ret LTC Guy Lorne Copeland, 76, of Fairfax Station, Virginia, passed away on August 28, 2023, at home with his family after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Copeland had retired as Principal, National Security, from Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) after 27 years with the company.
He was born in Sexsmith, Alberta, Canada, to Thomas and Dorothy (Smith) Copeland on October 15, 1946. He, his parents and siblings immigrated to the U.S. in 1954. He joined the U.S. Army in 1965. He left for Vietnam in 1968, where he flew Chinook helicopters that transported troops and artillery. While in the military, he earned his BS in Electrical Engineering from UW-Madison and his MSEE from UC-Berkeley.
After his retirement in 1988, Copeland joined Computer Sciences Corporation, where he held several executive positions, including representing CSC on the US President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.
He was a loving, generous, and devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, and dog dad and a very loyal friend. He enjoyed hiking with his dogs, kayaking, traveling, and tinkering with electronics. He never missed Jeopardy and loved sci-fi books/movies and crossword puzzles. He was an avid researcher of technology and of making use of the latest and greatest to improve everyday life.
Copeland is preceded in death by his parents, a son, Garrett, and two brothers-in-law. He is survived by his wife, Alice, daughter Michelle Hale (Mark), two granddaughters, Julia Hale and Sara Hale, siblings Gail Hipke, Rich Copeland (Alyce), and Cindy McCarthy, and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Interment with full military honors at Arlington Cemetery will be announced when scheduled.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in honor of Guy be made to one of the following: Capital Caring – https://capitalcaring-tributelights.funraise.org
Pancreatic Cancer – http://www.pancan.org
Operation Second Chance – https://operationsecondchance.org
Puppies Behind Bars – https://puppiesbehindbars.com
Read more at his memorial page
