Francis J. Coppinger

Francis J. Coppinger, known to friends and family as “Frank,” passed away on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 89 years old.

He was born on April 2, 1932, in the Bronx, N.Y., to Mary Rose Coppinger (Garvey) and John William Coppinger, both from New York City.

Frank was a graduate of St. Jerome School in the Bronx and St. Agnes High School in Manhattan. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the City College of New York in 1953 and did post-graduate work in civil engineering at Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He resided in Oakwood Heights, Staten Island, New York, with his wife, Margaret T. “Peggy” Coppinger (Geoghegan), whom he met on the subway in 1952. They were married October 16, 1954, and were married for 62 years, until Peggy’s death in 2016. For the last four years of his life, he resided in Alpharetta, Georgia.

He worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, first in the New York District and then in the North Atlantic Division, for nearly 40 years. While with the Army Corps, he was most proud of his disaster response work in and around Elmira, N.Y., after Hurricane Agnes; on flood-control projects such as the Gathright Dam near Covington, Virginia; on a water-retention project in the Sultanate of Oman; and on a pavement design for Ovda Air Base, near Eilat, Israel. He retired from the Corps in 1989 and became the director of engineering operations for the New York City Department of Sanitation; he retired from that position in 1996.

He had a lifelong love of the Boy Scouts of America. He achieved the rank of Star Scout as a child, and as an adult, he was a leader with Troop 125 of Richmondtown, Staten Island, for more than 30 years.  He guided dozens of scouts to their Ad Altare Dei and Pope Pius XII emblems, both of which are awards granted to Roman Catholic scouts who complete a program exploring their faith. He also helped many scouts from other backgrounds earn similar awards in their own religious traditions. For his service to Scouting, he was awarded the Bronze Pelican Award in 1986 and the St. George Medal, which is awarded to individuals who have made significant and outstanding contributions to the spiritual development of Catholic youths through Scouting, in 1992.

Frank is survived by three children—Anne Coppinger Paine of Avon Lake, Ohio (spouse David H. Paine); Christine C. Kowadla of Avondale Estates, Georgia (spouse Allan S. Kowadla); and Philip F. Coppinger of Worcester, Massachusetts (spouse Larissa E. Murphy)—and four grandchildren—Meaghan A. Maddox (spouse Benjamin W. Maddox) and Evan D. Paine, both of Avon Lake, Ohio; and Owen M. Coppinger and Aidan M. Coppinger, both of Worcester, Massachusetts. He was predeceased by his wife Margaret T. “Peggy” Coppinger and his daughter, Maureen F. Coppinger.

A memorial mass will take place on Sunday, April 2, 2022, at 10 :00 a.m. at Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 535 Rucker Rd., Alpharetta.

Ingram Funeral Home, 210 Ingram Ave, Cumming, GA is in charge of arrangements.