Walter Thomas Coppinger's Obituary
Walter Thomas Coppinger, 98, peacefully died July 21, 2021 after a long and interesting life. Born in Columbus, Georgia on January 17, 1923, Walter grew up during the Great Depression and went to St. Joseph Academy, Sisters of Mercy Catholic school. He would often tell stories about the lean times, how his family barely ate for a week when their groceries were stolen, and how these times developed his character and sense of optimism and humor.
After graduating from Columbus High School in 1940, he studied at the University of Alabama until enlisting with the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942 at the beginning of WWII. Prior to being shipped out to Europe in 1944, he married the love of his life, Jean Selleck of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, whom he met at a USO dance. Walter went on to pilot a Republic P-47 fighter airplane in the 395th Fighter Squadron, 368th Fighter Group against Nazi Germany from bases in England and later Straubing, Germany.
After being honorably discharged from the Air Force September of 1946, Walter returned to the University of Alabama where he earned his B.S in Accounting on August 8, 1948, and was an honorary member of Beta Alpha Psi.
Walter began his career with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a revenue agent in Columbus, Georgia. Seeing his obvious talent for leading others, he was selected in 1963 for the IRS executive development program. Upon completing the program, Walter was promoted to increasingly responsible positions until ultimately being appointed Regional Commissioner over the IRS’s Southwest region in 1974. As Southwest Regional Commissioner, Walter was responsible for thousands of employees and for all the IRS’s operations in the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming. During this time, he was also President of the Dallas Chapter of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and a member of the AICPA Tax Division’s Committee on Small Business.
Walter retired from the IRS in 1979, and joined public accounting firm Arthur Young (predecessor to Ernst & Young) as a principal in the tax practice until finally retiring 1992. He spent the rest of his life pursing his passions which included playing golf daily at Brookhaven Country club in Dallas (often with his son James), travel to Europe and photography.
Walter was known for his kindness, his grit (especially his gallows humor), and his love for life. He was friendly, outgoing, and made lasting impressions on most everyone he met. He was preceded in death by his wife for 70 years, Jean, in 2014, by his daughters Joan Wettermark, Martha Lavigne in 2020 and his brother Harry Coppinger. He is survived by his, son James Coppinger, daughter Joyce Birdwell and four grandchildren: Michael, Christopher, Katie, and Hart.
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