I’ve known Bob Copping for years and he is just a gem of a guy! I love his ability to think outside of the box, leap out of his comfort zone, and make his dreams of improving our town a reality. Every day that I walk through our town I see Bob’s projects and they warm my heart. South Haven is a better place because of Bob Copping! ~ (Mayor Annie Brown)
Raised in the Van Buren County community of Paw Paw, Bob Copping matriculated with a major in accounting from Western Michigan University and a Master of Business Administration from Michigan State University. He joined the Army and was assigned to Germany as a security officer and later served as the transportation officer for the Nahbollenbach Depot with responsibilities for the movement of supplies throughout Europe. Bob and his bride Jane loved his assignment and traveling internationally.
Once discharged from the Army Bob began a distinguished professional life in financial management for several companies.
Jane and Bob shared 65 years of marriage before her passing in 2021. Jane was a dedicated teacher whose career touched the lives of children as far away as Germany and Slovakia with the International Executive Service Corps. The Coppings raised three children – Chris, Mark and Robin. Bob recently celebrated his 92nd birthday.
The Coppings had a vacation condo in South Haven for the final years of his work life. They decided to settle in South Haven and became permanent North Side residents.
In retirement they vowed to follow the philosophy of author David Brooks: Define a joyous life of meaning and purpose, notably their community.
Jane managed the SHOUT project of planting flowers on the Dyckman bridge for nearly 20 years, originally carrying milk jugs of water for the flowers. She was cheerful, positive, persevering and relentless, despite health challenges. In her memory the South Haven Area Community Foundation has recently created the Jane G. Copping Classical Music Performance Charitable Fund.
The Coppings settled into a neighborhood where many property owners weren’t happy with their taxes. A protest group was organized calling themselves the – South Haven Organization of Underrepresented Taxpayers. SHOUT! Enter Bob’s expertise. He had at one point in his career been a corporate tax manager gaining an understanding of the tax schemes of 26 different States and several foreign countries. He agreed to research the subject for the northsiders.
He spent countless hours poring over records at City Hall and came to the conclusion that the appraised values of properties on the North side were significantly less than their true value. There was no reason to protest property tax bills. His conclusion: “They were getting a break!”
Bob looked at this moment in time as an opportunity. “Let’s us northsiders get involved as advocates for our community.” The civic-minded SHOUT group was formed, becoming an exclamation – “SHOUT for South Haven, working to make a great community even better”
Inspired by Bob and Jane Copping, SHOUT to this day is engaged in a way that initiates new paths in the community, projects that otherwise might not see the light of day. The projects funded through hundreds of thousands of dollars in private contributions are numerous. – among them the bridge flowers, downtown sculptures, SHOUT park, the Wilhelm Baum tugboat, signature street clocks, beach benches and most recently the winter fireplace gathering place in Dyckman Park. SHOUT was the inspiration for the creation of the summer Waterfront Concerts, the Cottage Walk, Performance Series, Theatre Series and Speakers Series.
Bob is an active Rotarian, a member of the South Haven Yacht Club and has served in leadership capacities with the Michigan Maritime Museum and South Haven Community Foundation. Bob and Jane were the honorary Grand Marshals of the South Haven Fourth of July parade in recent years and Bob was recently honored for his community service by the South Haven City Council.
