A former Waukegan alderman and Waukegan School District 60 board member known for “his faith, his family and his love of Waukegan” died Saturday morning, his successor said.
Lucius Copeland was involved in public service pretty much all of his adult life, serving as a scoutmaster, on the Board of Directors for the YMCA on the south side of Waukegan and as a deacon, trustee and Sunday school teacher at Shiloh Baptist Church, said his wife, Catherine Copeland.
Copeland, a 1948 graduate of Waukegan Township High School and a retired Illinois Bell employee, served on the Waukegan School Board for eight years and was appointed 1st Ward alderman by Mayor Haig Paravonian in 1989.
He won two re-election campaigns against candidates that included future state Rep. Eddie Washington. Copeland announced in 1998 he would not seek a third full term and was succeeded by current Ald. Sam Cunningham.
Cunningham remembers the conversation he had with Copeland when he asked for Copeland’s endorsement.
Copeland asked Cunningham if he was sure he wanted the job, and when Cunningham said yes, Copeland said he would support him, not because he was a black man but because Cunningham was a Waukegan native who went away to college but came back to the community.
“The great thing about Mr. Copeland is he was very genuine,” Cunningham said. “He’s not a politician. He’s just a person who loved serving people.”
Copeland decided to run for the school board because with children in the school district, he was concerned about their education. Copeland had a daughter and two sons, and his family now includes six grandchildren.
“He was always concerned about our city of Waukegan, our community, our city, our neighborhood,” Catherine Copeland said. “He was interested in what was happening here.”
Catherine Copeland is going to miss “his humility and his love for family and just his presence,” she said Monday, what would have been their 57th wedding anniversary.
Twitter @mekcoleman
