Gunnar M. Coper, 81, died peacefully in his home in Springfield on December 1, 2020, after a lengthy battle with cancer. Gunnar was born on the Portuguese island of Madeira the only child of Kurt, a German, Jewish physicist, who had fled from Nazi Germany; and Ruth, a Swedish nurse with the Red Cross. Following World War II, Gunnar and his mother lived for two years in Sweden while his father immigrated to the US. The family was reunited in Philadelphia in 1947 and Gunnar lived the rest of his life in Philadelphia and Delaware County.
Gunnar received a BA from Penn State University in 1961. After three years serving as a second lieutenant with the US Army where he was stationed in Germany, he returned to Penn State and received a Masters degree in history. He then got a job teaching history at Ridley High School where he remained until his retirement in 1999. During this time mutual friends had introduced him to Joan Grimes and the two were married in 1968 and settled in Springfield. Joan preceded him in death in 2007. They had no children.
Gunnar loved classical music and opera. He was a voracious reader who especially enjoyed historical novels. He loved movies. He and Joan travelled extensively and especially enjoyed cruises. They visited six of the seven continents. Gunnar was also an avid, but spectacularly awful golfer, although he did once achieve a hole-in-one at Springfield Country Club. He was a member and elder at Collenbrook United Church, in Drexel Hill. Gunnar and Joan were also very active in local Democratic politics.
Because he was an only child and he and Joan had no children of their own, his friends became his family and their children his honorary children. No one could have had a more loyal and generous friend. Gunnar had a unique and unforgettable sense of humor that could be endearing at times, annoying at times, embarrassing at times, but always funny and memorable. He will be missed.
A graveside service will be held at Collenbrook United Church where his ashes will be interred, on Saturday, December 12, 2020 at noon.
Donations in Gunnar’s memory may be made to Collenbrook United Church, 5290 Township Line Road, Drexel Hill, PA 19026.
Leave a Condolence