Ludine (Brown) Copeland

Ludine Copeland, age 104 of Anna, went home to her Savior on November 20, 2025. Ludine was born April 21, 1921 the daughter of Henry "Stucco" and Elizabeth "Liza" (Messamore) Brown.

Ludine grew up in the "Bottoms" in Union and Alexander Counties, helping her parents farm. Ludine accepted Christ as her personal Savior as a girl at the Ware Baptist church during a revival. This was during a hard frozen winter so her parents drove the family in the snow to Grand Tower so she could be baptized indoors in the new Baptistry at the Grand Tower Baptist church.

Ludine attended 3 different one room schools growing up: Lamer, Saratoga, and McClure schools. She was a proud member of the first graduating class of Wolf Lake Community High School in 1940.

Ludine married Carol "Dick" Copeland on January 13 in 1944. He preceded her in death on March 11, 1993. While Ludine's husband served honorably in the South Pacific during WWII, Ludine aided the war effort by working at the Florsheim Shoe Company in Anna secretly making Army boots and ammo belts with a few of her best friends. After the war Ludine and Carol bought a home in Jonesboro and raised their three girls there. Ludine attended the First Baptist Church of Jonesboro where she brought her three girls and served teaching little ones and later had fun serving in the church library and enjoyed an active Sunday School class and the Women's Mission group. Ludine loved gardening and always maintained a large vegetable garden and many beautiful flowers. She read constantly and traveled as much as she could. Her favorite trips were to Holy Land.

Ludine returned to work for a while in the Cutting dept of the 'new' Florsheim Shoe Co. She really enjoyed many friends there and especially enjoyed being around the young people working around her.

Ludine lived in her home in Jonesboro until she turned 90 in 2011. Ludine became one of the first residents at River to River Senior Living in Anna. Ludine loved her time there with her many friends. She enjoyed the trips, parties, Bingo, Puzzle sessions, reading all of their library books and working in the General Store there. Ludine hated to leave her home at The Voyage as it is now called but her health was declining, and she moved at the age of 104 to Manor Court in Carbondale. Ludine peacefully passed away there.

Ludine is survived by her three daughters: Karen (Ron) Hubbs of Anna, Pam Kaplan of Cooper City, FL. and Kathy (Robin) Pengress of Jonesboro. Four grandchildren: Tim (Stacy) Hubbs of Jonesboro, Jessica Kaplan of Davie, FL, Eric Pengress of Anna, Samantha (Brad) Dawson of Anna. Six great grandchildren: Jacob Hubbs of Anna, Nathan Hubbs of Jonesboro, Elizabeth Kaplan of Davie, FL, Carson Pengress of Anna, Kayma Dawson of Anna and Sawyer Dawson of Anna. Special nieces: Elaine (Kevin) Lasher of Cape Girardeau, MO and Sue Brown Fuller of Indianapolis, IN. Special nephew, Kevin (Amy) Cain of Cape Girardeau, MO. She was preceded in death by her parents, her loving husband of 49 years Carol, her beloved brother Collin Brown and sister in law Janet Knight Brown and her beloved little sister Margaret Brown Cain and brother in law Edgar Cain, her son in law Jerry Kaplan, grandson Jonathan Pengress, great Granddaughter Caitlyn Pengress, nephew Ron Cain and special cousins Harold Parmley and Gerald Parmley, many friends, neighbors, coworkers and classmates.

Funeral services will be at 1:00 p.m. Monday, November 24, 2025 at Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home in Anna with Pastor Perry Williams officiating. Interment will follow in the Jonesboro cemetery. Visitation will be from 11:00 a.m. until the service hour at 1:00 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to Jonesboro Baptist Church Library or to Hospice of Southern Illinois.