Tyler Copley

William Tyler Copley, 19, of Powder Springs, lived life to the fullest until he passed away on Aug. 7, 2008, after a long battle with cancer. Funeral services will be held at 2 PM, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008, at McEachern Memorial United Methodist Church, with the Revs. Jim Higgin, Jerry McCurdy, and Allen Richburg officiating. Burial will be in Georgia National Cemetery. He was born in Glendale, AZ, and being a child of the Air Force, grew up in many places around the U.S. and Germany. As Tyler grew, he developed many interests, but his biggest love was sports . He spent many years on baseball fields and basketball courts playing his heart out with every game. He followed major league sports faithfully and could spout out any statistic at a second’s notice. Tyler loved to see his Ohio State Buckeyes and the Boston Red Sox play. After moving to Atlanta he became an avid hockey fan following the Thrashers constantly. He, also, had a love of history and geography, and was an avid reader of autobiographies. He made his political views known many times, and could not wait to vote for the first time. Throughout Tyler’s life, he was drawn to those with special needs, even before his own illness. His love and compassion shined through when he was spending time with his cousin, Jeremy; his sweet buddy, Terrell; and all of his friends in the Special Education room at Harrison High school. He loved them dearly and spent many days working with them. One of Tyler’s favorite places in the world was Camp Sunshine. He was there every chance he got to spend time with his friends that like him were living with cancer. He knew that when he was there with them, he was just one of the gang, and felt fully accepted as he was. He became a passionate advocate for childhood cancer research and became a voice for children with cancer through the Rally Foundation, and CURE Childhood Cancer. Survivors include his parents, Major Todd M. Copley and Connie E. Copley; brother, Kirk Copley; sister, Sara Copley, all of Powder Springs; paternal grandparents, Morgan and Norma Copley, of Pickerington, Ohio; maternal grandparents, William H. and Barbara Magley, of Kirkersville, Ohio. In lieu of flowers please donate to: Camp Sunshine http://mycampsunshine.com/support/index.php The Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research http://www.rallyfoundation.org/ The family will receive friends from 3 to 5 PM Saturday at Mayes Ward-Dobbins Funeral Home and Crematory. www.mayeswarddobbins.com

Tyler Copley

August 7, 2008