- Date Of Birth: May 3, 1936
- Date Of Death: October 23, 2022
- State: Arizona
William R. Cope (Ron), 86, of Scottsdale, AZ, passed away peacefully at his residence on October 23, 2022 with his wife by his side. Ron was born in Philadelphia to parents Harry R. Cope and Ethel S. Cope on May 3, 1936. He was predeceased by his parents Harry and Ethel, his wife of 40 years Dorothy, daughter Loreen, son Scott, brother Bob, sisters Jane and Pat. He is survived by his wife of 3 months, Elizabeth K Green, Sister-in-Law Barbara Oldehoeft, Brother-in-Law Richard DeBoer, many nieces, nephew, cousins and extended family. Ron attended Temple University and moved to Arizona in 1957 to attend Arizona State University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree. He was a member and later president of Sigma Pi Fraternity. Ron joined Motorola in 1960 while still continuing his studies at ASU and receiving his MS. He held many positions during his 34-year career at Motorola. Ron finally retired in 1994. In 2005, Ron became a member of the Franciscan Renewal Center aka The Casa and was quite active in several ministries there. One of the ministries at the casa was working in the healing garden. He was considered “gardener extraordinaire” due to being able to fix what needed repaired. Ron would take the small broken items home to fix or paint and if it was a large item, he would take his tools to the garden and fix or paint there. He always looked forward to Tuesdays for garden day. Ron would go to 7am mass, grab coffee afterwards with fellow gardeners and then go out and work god’s land. All the gardeners he worked with to this day, have stayed close to him to the point that they are considered our tight knit family. The other ministry close to Ron’s heart was working with the Casa Franciscana Outreach. This outreach helped with the poor in Guaymas, Sonora Mexico. Ron would go down to Guaymas on several trips and help repair things that were broken, trim bushes, go out into the community and help distribute food. While down in Guaymas, Ron met Brother Ivo Toneck. Their friendship lasted for many years up until his death on February 29, 2020. Ron had a 2nd home in Payson, Arizona for 10 years. He was hoping to move up there some time but the cold weather got to him. Ron met lots of people up in Payson that to this day are still friends which have turned into being part of the family that is how close they became. Because Ron couldn’t handle the cold, he was nicknamed “Scottsdale Baby” by one of his best friend’s Bob Graziano. Ron had to sell the house in 2021 due to his decline in health. His passion was fishing with friends and family on our desert lakes and at Rivers Inlet, British Columbia and staying at Duncanby Lodge. Ron and Beth would also like to thank all the friends and family that came to see them during this rough time. Ron’s friend Judith helped make his transition easier. She put him at ease more than I could do and we are in your debt. Ron and Beth would like to thank Suncrest Hospice and the wonderful team he had: Thomas (Intake Nurse), Denise (Nurse), Melina (Social Worker), Jesse (Aide) and Emrys (Chaplain). They helped make Ron’s journey to new life less stressful. All you had to do was pick up the phone and they were there. Also, Messinger Mortuary, they came to house and waited til we were ready not them to pick up Ron.
