Dorothy M. Wilkerson Copeland

Dot was born to Irvin and Gracie Wilkerson in Philadelphia, Mississippi on May 29, 1935…. Well, it may have been May 31st- we always celebrated it on the 29th but in recent years when filling out her Texas identification paperwork we discovered her birth certificate actually said the 31st. So, on this we will never know! She had one brother, Henry, and four sisters, Sara, Doris, Dee, and Bonnie. Being born during the depression shaped Dot’s formative years and resulted in a lifetime of collecting clothing, empty boxes, and an incredible vintage collection of canned goods, pantry items, and frozen Lima beans. Dot married George Mitchell Copeland on November 27, 1954 in Philadelphia, MS. They relocated to Richton, MS after George graduated from USM, where they expanded their family with the birth of oldest son, George Timothy (Tim) in 1959. In addition to being a homemaker, Dot worked at Richton High School while her darling Mitch taught and then served as Principal. In later years, the Copeland family moved to Meridian where Dot continued her career at GMAC Credit. Their second son, Terry Burt was born in 1967. In 1977, the family relocated to Laurel where she would live until 2015. In Laurel, she was an active member of First United Methodist Church, The Massey-Peden Sunday School class, and the Republican Women’s Club. She also retired from Holt and Associates CPA. She moved to Texas in 2015 to be with her family Mom was an amazing cook. Some of her all-time classic recipes include Butternut Cake, Pralines, Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, Chicken Spaghetti, and her famous Thanksgiving dressing. When offered dessert, she would never fail to remind her family that she had diabetes, no doubt from the five-pound bag of sugar she would use in just one of those butternut cakes. But it wouldn’t stop her - she would slice off a tiny sliver that would continue to grow larger as the night went on. There was not a baked good safe from Mom despite her petite frame. Mom enjoyed the simple things in life; a hamburger, watching her grandsons play baseball, buying matching pantsuits from Chicos (sometimes the same one multiple times), and could strip the corn kernels off the cobb like she worked on the manufacturing line at Green Giant. And, if you can’t tell yet, Mom loved to laugh and joke. She raised two sons who inherited an irreverent sense of humor and love for familial heckling that inevitably results in laughter through tears every holiday. In recent years, Mom’s dementia progressively got worse and it was laughter that we held on to as a family in the toughest moments. A fiercely strong and independent woman, she was adamant about taking care of herself and being properly dressed. It's her laugh and how her blue eyes would light up with it that we will probably miss the most. She is survived by her sons Tim (Allie), and Terry (Olga), grandchildren Elizabeth, Jessica (Justin), John (Kim), Jesse (Rebekah), Alexis, Caroline, and George and great grandchildren Spencer, Ava, Catalina, and Laura Emerson. She is also survived by her brother Henry, brother and sister-in-law, Doyle and Juanita Ferguson, many nieces and nephews and our “sister” Kathy (David) Peterson. Her memory will live on in every recipe we cook, joke we make, and time spent laughing and loving together as a family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Dorothy’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association or First United Methodist Church in Laurel, MS. To sign the online guest book, visit www.memorychapellaurel.com.

Dorothy M. Wilkerson Copeland

May 29, 1935 - August 26, 2023