"Our Colorado Cousins"
The Coppock's were a relatively small family, especially for the 1940's and 1950's, when several children were usually the norm.. As a result, we were quite close, always having birthdays and holiday celebrations together. The photo below was in the early 1950's at our house on Christmas.
Ashton and Dorothy and cousin Connie are to the left; Jan and I are sitting on the floor, with our parents Helen and Clyde behind us. Grandpa and Grandma Coppock are far right. That was our family!
It's funny, but since the late 1890's, none of the Coppock's ever left Le Mars. They married hometown sweethearts, lived and worked there, and rarely left except for vacations. That all changed in 1963 when Ashton announced that he was taking a service manager's job at a Rambler dealership in Denver. He and Dorothy, along with Dorothy's Mother and Connie, moved to Northglenn, CO.
After graduating from High School in 1964, Connie Coppock attended Colorado Women's College, graduating with a major in education. She began teaching elementary school in Aurora, Colorado. While living in Aurora, she met Stephen Dutka. Steve was a Communications System Engineer for Hughes Space and Communications (later Raytheon).
Connie Coppock and Stephen Dutka were married on October 7, 1977, in Westminster, Colorado.
Connie and Steve have two sons, Christopher Stephen Dutka, born December 30, 1978; and Matthew David Dutka, born November 13, 1982. The photo below was taken in the mid to late 1980's.
Chris Dutka graduated from Gateway High School in Aurora, Colorado, and received a degree from the University of Northern Colorado with a B.A. in Kinesiology. Chris and I share a common interest: we both played the saxophone, though Chris played tenor and I played alto.
Chris and wife Amanda live in Aurora, CO, where he is employed by HCA Research Institute of Aurora Denver Cardiology as a Clinical Research Site Manager. Interestingly, he was employed by the Denver Broncos between 2002 and 2005 in their sports medicine department. Their wedding picture is below, followed by a photo of Chris and Amanda enjoying a romantic dinner.
Matt Dutka also graduated from Gateway High School in Aurora, and he also received degrees from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. He holds both a B.S. and a M.S. degree in Chemistry, and he started his career in 2008 as a Chemist at GE Analytical Instruments in Boulder. Another interesting fact: GE sold the division to Suez (a French company that had built the Suez Canal!).
Matt is now the Lead Manufacturing Chemical Engineer for the Suez Water Technologies and Solutions in Boulder, Colorado. He and his wife Penny were married on December 2, 2007, and they live in Frederick, CO, with their two sons James and Zach. Penny holds a B.S. in both Biology and Nursing from the University of Northern Colorado. After serving as a school nurse for the Denver Public Schools and a Public Health Nurse for the Tri-County Health Department, she is now a Vaccination Team Leader for the Boulder County Health Department.
Connie and Steve are both retired, living in Montrose, CO. They love the mountains, and they are avid hikers. In fact, emails from both Chris and Matt indicate that the whole family enjoys getting outdoors to enjoy camping, fishing, off-roading, etc. This photo is of Connie and Steve on of one of their outdoor getaways in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.
Yes, our lives get busy with our occupations, our families, and our friends. I hope this in some way connects us to some Colorado Cousins that we now know a little better. Drop them an email (they are on the Coppock family list) to at least introduce yourselves. I know they would appreciate it. I believe that Chris and Amanda, and Matt and Penny, are also on Facebook.
DAC 2/23/21
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