(Veteran)

Norman A. Cope, 85

Norman A. Cope, 85, of Zapata, Texas, died Oct. 15, 2003, at Doctor’s Hospital in Laredo, Texas. Funeral services were Oct. 20 at Rose Garden Funeral Chapel in Zapata. Interment was in the Zapata County Cemetery.

Norman Allen Cope was born Jan. 4, 1918, in Polk County, Iowa, to Fred and Bertha Cope.

He received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his service in the U.S. Army during World War II. He served in the invasion of Normandy and was captured in Germany and held in a POW camp until the end of the war in Europe. He was a member of American Legion Post No. 487, was a life member of the VFW and member of the Masonic Lodge.

Mr. Cope established himself in the construction business in Des Moines, Iowa, with Cope Distributing, which handled wholesale aluminum doors and windows. He was honored as the Man of the Year by the National Home Builders Association in 1966.

After injuries ended his calf roping activities, he continued to be active in rodeo by serving as an announcer in the Des Moines area for the Merritt Ranch Rodeo Company and other contractors in the area. He never lost interest in rodeo, the construction business or his friends.

After coming to Zapata for several years, where he enjoyed the fishing in Falcon Lake, he moved to Zapata for fulltime residence in 1975, establishing Cope’s 2-Bit Ranch, an RV park. Many “Winter Texans” enjoyed their stays there, along with the Copes’ hospitality. During the summer months, the Copes lived in Blair at the La Quinta apartments.

Mr. Cope is survived by his wife, Sylvia; stepsons and their families, James Brown, Ronald Brown, Kenneth Brown and Pat McCord; two nephews, Alan and John Cope, and a niece, Sue Warren, along with many “Winter Texans” who spent their winters at Cope’s RV Park, and friends in Zapata and in the Washington County area.

He was preceded in death by a brother, Leonard Cope, and his former wives, Arwilda and Eloise.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~