Clarence H. "Bud" Copping

Visitation for Clarence H. “Bud” Copping, 103, of Palatine, will be on Monday, December 9, 2024, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 200 N. Plum Grove Road, Palatine from 10:00 AM until the time of the Funeral Service at 11:00 AM. The Interment, with military honors, will follow at Union Cemetery in Palatine.

Clarence was born on June 1, 1921, to Clarence I. and Mary J. Copping. He passed away on Thanksgiving evening, November 28, 2024. Clarence grew up in Chicago and graduated from Lane Technical High School in 1939. He worked for Montgomery Ward from 1948 to 1986. It was at Wards that he met Louise Schoenfeldt. They were married on April 25, 1951, and lived in Texas and Wyoming before returning to Chicago. In 1954, they moved to Palatine to live and raise their family.

During WWII, Bud was a B-24 aircraft commander in the Army Air Force. He was a member of the 449th Bomb Group, 719th Bomb Squadron, a component of the 15th Air Force. He operated from a base near Grottaglie, Italy from January 1944 to March 1945. After 32 missions with the 449th, Clarence opted in March 1945 to transfer to the 459th Bomb Group. His choice was to finish 3 more missions from Italy rather than go home early with the 449th, convert to the B-29, then another full tour in the Pacific. Bud was the last surviving member of his 10-man crew, and he cherished their friendship and kept in contact with most of them until their deaths. His military service resumed when he was recalled to the Air Force during the Korean War in 1950. He served stateside in Fort Worth, Texas, and Cheyenne, Wyoming until separation from service in 1952.

When Louise and Clarence retired, they were able to travel, especially enjoying trips to England, Europe, and Australia. Retirement also gave them a chance to get to know their neighbors better and to join the Over 50’s group at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Palatine. Louise and Clarence’s family would like to thank those neighbors and Over 50’s members for their friendship and the help they gave Mom and Dad.

Clarence was the beloved husband of Louise H. Copping for 73 years; the loving father of Claudia Pragman and Clarence C. (Donna) Copping; cherished grandfather of Alexa (David Norton) Pragman, Alison Pragman, Samantha (Peter) Kang; and Courtney (Cameron) Soderberg; dear great-grandfather of Oliver & Aurelia Norton, Simon & Benedict Kang, and Roy Soderberg. 

Clarence’s nephew Jeff (Bev) Juhl survives him as does his niece’s husband, Gary Brummet, and Gary’s children, Quentin (Jen), Disa (Amil) Patel, and Evan (Danielle), and grandchildren. On Louise’s side of the family, he is also survived by his sister-in-law, Sally Schoenfeldt, and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his sisters, Helen L. Copping, and Marian V. Juhl; son-in-law, James H. Pragman; and niece, Donna Juhl. Louise’s sisters and brothers-in-law, Lorraine and Walter Wadington, Gloria and Walter Schmidt; and her brother, Louis F. Schoenfeldt predeceased him as well.