As mentioned in our previous announcement of Bill’s passing, here is a full obituary we’d like to share.

Sydney William (Bill) Coppen

1948 – 2024

Bill was born on March 8, 1948, in Fort Frances, Ontario and passed away at age 75 on February 21, 2024, in Abbotsford, British Columbia. He is survived by his loving wife Louise and his daughter Kari, her husband Brian, and his daughter-in-law Lori. He will be sorely missed by his three grandchildren Cameron, Jolyn and Annadele. Bill treasured his grandchildren and embraced their various activities and accomplishments. Also left to mourn are his sisters Rene Lecuyer and Kelly Plichta as well as his sisters in law, Beth Drechsler, Julie Patten (Nic) and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Syd and Evelyn, his son Scott, his brother-in-law Ed Plichta and his in-laws Dan and Lena Sokil.

Bill spent his early years on Rainy Lake. As a child he looked forward to fishing, hunting and enjoying water sports with his family. At age 15 he began guiding at Camp Manitou and shared his fishing prowess with others. He attended school in Fort Frances and after he graduated from high school, he pursued higher education at the University of North Dakota where he majored in mathematics and science. Bill possessed a keen intellect that drove all his endeavours. In 1968, UND began a flying course and Bill was quick to enrol and earned his pilot’s license. He joined the skydiving club and spent many memorable weekends jumping out of airplanes! While balancing his studies, Bill worked summers at the paper mill in Fort Frances to support his education.

In 1968, Bill and Louise married after Bill completed his first year of university. Following graduation with a Bachelor of Science in 1971, they moved to Thunder Bay where he received his Bachelor of Education degree at Lakehead University. Their daughter Kari was born in Thunder Bay in 1971 and Bill accepted a teaching position at Red Lake High School that same year. In 1973 their son Scott was born in Red Lake and their family was complete.

While working in education, the outdoors still beckoned him and he spent many enjoyable weekends fishing and hunting. He had a trap line and was able to spend time outdoors year-round. Bill and fellow teacher Wes Werbowy purchased a Cessna 140 together with the intention of building their flying hours. During his summers off from teaching, Bill worked at various places such as Red Lake Seaplane Service, Wings Aviation, Cochenour Mine and Green Airways.

Taking a leap of faith at age 29, in 1977, Bill decided on a career change and secured permission to build his own fly-in fishing resort on Goose Lake. He and Louise started with undeveloped land and built a camp from the ground up, they welcomed their first guests in 1978. Bill enjoyed meeting new people and made lifelong friends during his 45 years operating the resort. Over the years, several outposts were acquired, and others built. He also established Pikangikum Airways which he ran for a few years before selling to Wilf and Heidi Wright. Later, he formed Loon Haunt Air Service and ran a Cessna 180 for a few years before upgrading to a Cessna 185 which the company still owns to this day. When Ryan and Eliza Scott joined the team at Loon Haunt a few years ago, Bill was pleased as he knew they would be ideally suited to take the helm as owners of the resort.

With the tourist business being a seasonal operation, Bill and Louise often traveled in the winter to warmer climates to experience sailing and scuba diving vacations with family and extended family. He especially loved his sailboat and enjoyed planning new destinations to visit. Once grandchildren arrived on the scene, additional visits to the east and west coasts occurred to spend more time with family.

Bill always had a love of aviation and floatplanes and flew the Norseman DRD back when it was a working plane. In 1987, when his good friend Keith Peddie died in a tragic DC3 accident Bill started a fundraiser to support the restoration of a Norseman by the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in Winnipeg. Keith loved the Norseman aircraft and used to proclaim Red Lake as the “Norseman Capital of the World” due to the numerous Norseman aircraft in service at that time. Bill sold hats, T-shirts and sweatshirts with all proceeds going to the aviation museum. The idea was well received so he organized a social evening for the aviation community to pay tribute to the venerable machine and to honour the life of Keith Peddie. He created a website dedicated to the history of the Norseman, https://www.norsemancapital.com/norseman/. The following years saw the Norseman tribute evolve to become a full community celebration and festival embraced by the entire district and supported by the municipality and the countless volunteers who have made it what it has become today.

In keeping with Bill’s wishes, a private family gathering is planned for the summer to celebrate his life. If desired, memorial donations in Bill’s memory may be made to the Red Lake Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital (RLMCH) Foundation https://www.redlakehospital.ca/RLMCMHFoundation.

Forever in our hearts Bill. “Blue skies and tailwinds”. ‘Till we meet again.