William DeLoach Cope, 93, of Arcola, MS died March 23, 2015 at Indywood Estates in Cleveland, MS. A service celebrating his life will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Hollandale, MS, Friday, March 27, 2015, at 2:30 p.m., with the Reverend Sylvia Czarnetsky and the Reverend C.J. Caulfield officiating. Visitation will be at the church at 1:30 p.m. Interment will be at the Hollandale Cemetery.
Mr. Cope was born Oct. 12, 1921 in Hollandale. A 1939 graduate of Hollandale High School, he played basketball and was in the band. He attended Millsaps College where he played on the tennis team and in the band prior to transferring to the University of Mississippi. He left college to enlist in the United States Navy in 1942.
He had a distinguished naval career during World War II serving as a Navy pilot with Squadron VC66 on three different CVE, S (small aircraft carriers). He earned three Battle Stars and the Air Medal-Presidential Unit Citation and retired with the rank of Lt. Commander.
Following the war he returned to Ole Miss where he played on the tennis team and was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He left Ole Miss his senior year to marry Audrey Allegra Wramp of Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii. They married Sept. 4, 1946. He began his farming career in 1947 at James Crossing, farming there for two years before selling to purchase farm land at Arcola. He farmed Arcola Plantation until his retirement. In addition, he farmed with M.P. Neff many years in a partnership known as Cope & Neff, Inc.
Mr. Cope was a member and president of the Arcola Good Neighbor Club. He organized the Arcola Development Corp. to purchase the Arcola High School Property following the school’s consolidation and served as its president. Many years later the property was sold to Deer Creek School. He served as chairman of the finance committee to raise funds for Deer Creek School. In addition, Mr. Cope was a member and past president of the Hollandale Rotary Club.
Elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1960, he served two consecutive terms. He chaired the House Banking Committee, served as secretary of the Education Committee and as a member of the Game and Fish and the Levee committees.
A member of the Mississippi Insurance Commission from 1970 to 1980, Mr. Cope served under Insurance Commissioners Walter Dell Davis, Evelyn Gandy and George Dale. He was also a two-term member of the Mississippi Levee Board from Washington County, serving from 1980 to 1988, and served as director of the Delta Council.
His patriotism and respect for the men and women who fight for their country were reflected in his long-time commitment to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Elected State Commander of the Mississippi VFW, he was the 1965 U.S. Commander of the Year and led the VFW Parade in New York City. Through the years he also remained in close contact with the men who served in his Navy Squadron.
His hobbies and interests included fishing, flying and hunting. He fished throughout Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Canada (Red Lake area), and Alaska (Kanai River area). He flew his airplane throughout the Bahamas, Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. In his younger years he hunted quail with trained bird dogs and later enjoyed hunting pheasants in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Family was important to Mr. Cope. He enjoyed family gatherings and, in his retirement years, did genealogical research. As he discovered new family members around the country, he visited them and subsequently maintained regular contact.
A life-long member of the United Methodist Church of Hollandale, he served on numerous church committees, chairman of the Board of Stewards, and as a lay delegate to the Methodist Conference.
Mr. Cope was preceded in death by his wife of 68 years, Allegra W. Cope. He is survived by daughter, Allegra Lea (Bill) Brigham of Columbus; daughter, Hilda Margaret (Kirkham) Povall of Cleveland; and son, William DeLoach (Missie) Cope Jr. of Arcola; brother, John (Ann) Cope of Hollandale; and sister, Floy Edna (Bob) Leuenberger of Summerfield, FL; eight grandchildren: Audrey (Coby) Schultz of Seattle, WA, Lea (Jeff) Turnipseed of Madison, MS, John Stuart (Jennifer) Povall of Memphis, TN, Mary Elizabeth (Todd) Jeffreys of Cleveland, Margaret (Michael) Shivers of Memphis, Kirkham Wright Povall of Cleveland, Elissa (David) Anderson of Roswell, GA and Allegra (Zach) Tatum of Cleveland; and 20 great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to First United Methodist Church of Hollandale, Deer Creek School at Arcola, or the individual’s favorite charity.