Bill Copland
December 10, 1997
A true friend of Scouting in Brampton, Bill Copland,
passed away on December 10, 1997. The following are notes used in delivering a eulogy at a
service held at Ward’s Funeral Home on December 13, 1997.
- First met Bill in Fall of 1975 when he and Mary were Cub leaders with 7th Brampton
- Pleased to say we enjoyed a Scouting and personal relationship ever since
- Remarks not totally Scouting related - hard not to mention Scouting in any conversation about Bill - serve to exemplify code or work ethic - next few minutes - say to self “that sounds like Bill”
- Records - 1956 - 17 years of age - Cubmaster in Toronto
- 33 years of recorded service over a 41 year period - speaks for his commitment to and love of Scouting
- Brampton -- 1972
- Scout House renovations - extensive - Percy Hornblow, Don Mallett and Bill - many others - young men from OCI in Brampton - another way to get young people involved - cajoling Ministry for funds
- Bill honed if not developed his ability as a scrounger par excellence - materiel - KYBO’s; culverts for camp; shelter now behind Scout House
- Evident Bill was somewhat irreverent about government requirements - “easier to ask for forgiveness that to seek permission”
- Part of his philosophy - “let’s get the job done”
- 2nd renovation - 15 or so years later - general contractor
- Store - modifications to Olde Wolves Den - glass counters - “if want them pick them up tonight”
- Four Hills - Camp Search Committee; Camp Development Committee - discussions with Provincial and Brampton levels of government - “pick you up in 1/2 hour” - 100’s of miles in truck and tramped miles through potential properties - result - Charlie Armstrong’s own property in Caledon
- Number of years on District Executive Committee - Vice-President - always a voice of reason
- Training - Blue Springs - Charley Norman - “always thought Bill was much younger and a lot wiser than me”
- Cuborees - experience and ideas - may have moved away from direct involvement with youth - sponsor 16th Brampton - never forgot that Scouting was for the youth members
- Mentioned irreverent before - hard pressed to quote things verbatim - you may have heard a few of his choice words - let it go at that
- Drop in for shortbread and coffee - country coffee - a bit more country
- 2nd son - Craig - worked with Bill one summer - menu - steak, lobster - Copland not Carnegie - hamburgers - learned a lot from Bill - work ethic
- Dropped in on Bill recently - gallery ill - tell folk - “don’t believe in passing off my troubles on others”
- Touch on couple of Bill’s attributes - hard working, solid thinking, dedicated, no hidden messages - you knew where you stood with Bill - didn’t seek profile for himself - not afraid to get his hands dirty to get job done
- Many fond memories shared by many of us - proud to have called him “friend” - easy to pay tribute to Bill Copland - safe to say “Bill, you left your mark!!”
(Delivered by Roger Williams with background information
supplemented by Stu Eley, Wally Emon, Percy Hornblow and Charlie Norman.)
Last Modified: Saturday, July 16, 2005 01:48 PM
Copyright © 1997 - 2004 by: Brampton Area Scouts. All rights Reserved.