Ouachita Stories

Retired Ouachita Baptist University professor Raymond A. Coppenger, who celebrated his 100^th birthday in September, died Nov. 24 following a bout with pneumonia.

Dr. Coppenger, OBU Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, joined the Ouachita faculty in 1954. Serving as chairman of the department, he taught at Ouachita for 20 years until his retirement in 1974.

“I have long known of Dr. Raymond Coppenger,” reflected Ouachita President Rex M. Horne, Jr. “We are proud to have the legacy of this good man as an important part of Ouachita’s history and legacy.

“On a personal note, I am most proud that I have known him and could call him a friend,” Dr. Horne added. “I have been blessed to know Dr. Coppenger’s children and to respect the contributions they have all made. Dr. Coppenger was not only blessed with long life, but fully lived each day of those 100 years.”

Dr. Coppenger celebrated his 100^th birthday on Sept. 20 with a large gathering of family and friends in Arkadelphia. He received televised birthday greetings from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Ouachita alumnus, who closed his Fox News Channel show, “Huckabee,” on Sept. 20 by noting, “Dr. Coppenger is one of the most brilliant scholars I’ve known, and his Edinburgh-trained intellect was matched by his humble and gracious spirit. As he and his family celebrate his 100 years, I thank him for his investment in my life.”

In the same week that Dr. Coppenger marked his 100^th birthday, he sang bass in the “10^th Annual Final Concert” of the Ouachita Faculty Quartet, a group he helped form in the 1960s. He also saw his doctoral dissertation, written more than 50 years ago, published as a book titled, “A Messenger of Grace: A Study of the Life and Thought of Abraham Booth.”

Earlier this year, he was recognized as the oldest Arkansas Legionnaire and was awarded an Honorary Lifetime Membership to the American Legion in honor of his years of service as a Navy Reserve chaplain, where he earned the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Describing Dr. Coppenger as “unflappable,” Ouachita President Emeritus Daniel Grant said, “Dr. Coppenger never got angry and he was never stressed out. He would just take everything in stride.”

Noting that Dr. Coppenger “had great relations with the students,” Dr. Grant added, “He also had a sense of humor. In class his sense of humor would sneak up on the students and they didn’t know whether to laugh or not.”

Dr. Coppenger, who was born on Sept. 20, 1909, in east Tennessee, earned degrees from Mercer University, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the University of Edinburgh. During his years of ministry, he served as pastor of churches in Tennessee and Virginia, was a U.S. Navy chaplain in the Pacific during World War II and served as Baptist Student Union director at Auburn University and the University of Kentucky. Before joining the faculty of Ouachita Baptist University, he taught philosophy and religion at Carson-Newman College and Belmont University.

Dr. Coppenger was preceded in death in 2000 by Agnes, his wife of 56 years, and in 2007 by his daughter Anne. He is survived by his sister Dorothy; two children, Mark and Susan; grandchildren, Caleb Coppenger, Jedidiah Coppenger, Chesed Broggi, John Akin and Rebecca Copico; and great-grandchildren, Alethia, Asher, Josiah and Susannah Coppenger and Lois Broggi.

Visitation will be held beginning at noon on Saturday, Nov. 28, at First Baptist Church of Arkadelphia. Dr. Coppenger’s funeral service will follow at 2 p.m. with his son, Dr. Mark Coppenger, and pastor, Dr. Lee McGlone, officiating. Burial will be at Rest Haven Memorial Gardens.

The family requests that memorial gifts be made through First Baptist Church of Arkadelphia to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.