Joseph Edward Copsey

Joseph Edward Copsey (Eddie), age 76, passed peacefully on Sunday February 2, 2025. Born December 7, 1948, in Leonardtown, MD and raised in Mechanicsville, MD. Eddie was a lifelong resident of St. Mary’s County and graduated from Chopticon High School in 1968. Eddie was married to the love of his life, Barbara, where he and Barbara recently celebrated 53 years of beautiful marriage. Eddie also cherished his dogs Bentley and Winston. Eddie’s legacy will live on through his family and many friends. Eddie was a role model for his family whom he placed first in his heart. Eddie was particularly fond of his (5) grandchildren and (3) great-grandchildren. Eddie was a past member of both the Mechanicsville Moose Lodge and Mechanicsville Lions Club. As a young man he was a member of the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department. Eddie was preceded in death by his father (Thomas Eugene Copsey, Sr), mother (Carrie Cecilia), brother (Thomas Eugene Copsey, Jr. and wife Mary Helen), and nephew (Thomas Edward Copsey). Eddie leaves behind his wife of 53 years (Barbara), son Michael ‘Brian’ Copsey, Sr (Jennifer); (5) grandchildren McKenzie Stone (Hunter), ‘Michael Brian’ Copsey, Jr, TJ Copsey, Morgan Copsey, and Becky Mae Copsey; (3) great-grandchildren Brantley Stone, Brynleigh Stone, and Baylor Stone. Eddie also leaves behind his sister (Jeannie Cecelia Copsey). brother-in-law ‘Junior’ James Spalding Lathroum, II, and many extended family members whom he loved deeply. Eddie worked at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station for 40+ years where he first retired as a civil servant in 2001. Eddie worked for Ace Hardware in Leonardtown for a few years and later returned to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station as a DoD contractor until his second retirement in 2022. Eddie made many friends over the 40+ years he worked and remained close with many of them until his passing. Eddie was an avid outdoorsman and loved to hunt and fish with his family and many close friends. He was particularly proud of his boat, ‘Papa’s Pleasure’, where many memories will be cherished for years to come by those who knew him. Eddie was able to hunt and fish as recently as December 2024 where he was still enjoying his love of the outdoors with friends and family. Eddie was also a musician and played music as a drummer throughout Southern Maryland from the 1960s until the early 2000s with the following bands: The Surfers, Misty Few, Clyde Copsey, Jerry Burch and the Wanderers, and Southbound. Eddie loved playing music and was particularly fond of the people he met and the bandmates who became both friends and family. Eddie’s legacy will live on through his family and friends. Services will be private per Eddie’s request but the family is planning a special gathering in the future to honor Eddie as he wanted to be remembered. Condolences may be made to the family at www.mgfh.com. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home and Cremation Services, P.A., Leonardtown, MD.