Cope, Robert L.
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Rev. Robert :C. Cope, Obituary
fl '
Rev. H. Addis Leeson
ITH what solem n frequency arc the
ranks of ou r minist ry invaded by
death I Scarcely had the ministers o£ the
D e troit Conference ret urned from th e
Conference session to the work of the
new year when the dark-\\;ngcd messenger summons one of our honored members. Rev. Robert L. Cope was ca lled by
the "one clear voice" on S un day morning.
October 26th. H e was ripe in years, ha ving been born in 18-18. H e had been a
mini ster for sixt y-one years a nd probably
his r ecord fo r a widely scattered a nd
mani fo ld type of mini stry could not be
s urpassed. H e was pastor in no fewer
than t wenty-one charges in the Detroit
Con fer ence beside a period of ser vice in
the Methodist Protestant Church in the
very begin ning of his career.
His ancestors were ministers, both his
father and grandfather hav ing ser ved the
Canadian Church. Jn his early li fe, the
call to carry on in this good work came
to the youthful Robert. a nd having mo\·cd
across the border with his parents he
soon was found in Adr ian College in preparation fo r thi s as his life work. He
joined the Detroit Conference in 1875 and
gave th irty-two yea rs of active sen ·ice.
Early in his ministry he developed unusual powe rs in wi nning people and enlisting th em in th e se rvice of ] esus Cl1ris t.
He beca me fa mous fo r g r eat a nd sweeping and powe rful revivals. Notable among
t hese was the g reat success w hich he
achieved in a large circuit in Lenawee
county, with headquarters in the village
of \Veston and including F a irfield, Ogden,
and other points. The whole coun t ryside
was stirred .and lite rally hundreds yielded
to his persuasion. D ramatic incidents and
the stor:es of runarkable conversions are
still a ,.i,·id memory and a cherished tradition in th at section of the cou ntry.
W
Brother Cope was resourceful and very
tact ful in enlisting young people in chur ch
activitie s. The Epworth L eague was organized about th e time when he was at
1he height o f his succrss and he seized it
as an a rm of s trength in putting the
young folks to work and laying responsibil ity upon then1. Th e wr iter claims this
good ma n as his " fa ther in th e Gospel"
fo r that ve ry reason. "Addi s, you pray
next," was th e w lt i ~ p r re cl injunction as
\\t' kn el l in the pt•w at praye r mee ting
' <>I
lime; a nd fe r the firs t t:me in my life I
was startled and frig htened at the sou nd
of my own voice in pub lic ut terance. lt
was th e height of stra tegic courage on the
part of a pastor toward a n unusually t imid
and bashful country boy. And this spiritua l leadershi p a nd generalship was supplemented by a kind of hero worship as
we lea rn ed of th e exploits of our minister
as a huntsman and fi sherman in the great
".:'\'orth \ Voods."
Brother Cope made and kept friends.
A kind of a free and easy fam iliarity wit h
a ll sorts of people made him socially attracti ve a nd li kable. He was a g ood
"joiner." H e had gone to t he very top
in l\fasonry a nd was ident ifi ed with about
a ll the w ell known frat ernal organizations. I t wa s part o f hi s happy a bility to
meet men and kn ow the m. His fu nd o f
good sto ries seemed never to fa il. He
lifted t he dulln ess fr om many a program
by his rich fund of wit and e ngaging incident. H is son, Herbert Leon Cope,
known across the land as humor ist a nd
dramatic lecturer, came most naturally by
his g ift for en terta inment and ability to
unlock the spr ings of laugh ter in any
audience.
Brother Cope's approaching end was
foreshadowed throug h many weary months.
A slight stroke broke down his rugged
constitution and incapacitated him fo r
more than a yra r. He had los t his dear
wife, with whom he had li ved fo r more
than fift y years in swee t contentment , and
thi s sorrow gr ea tly overcast t he lat er
months of his life. H is pa sring came
peacefully on S unday morning a t the
home of his ~o n, who with his wife with
great loya lty and te nderness had ministered throug h the long period of his
sickn ess in the most fi lial a nd fa ithful
ma nner.
i\I r. a nd :.\lrs. Cope had three children:
Herbert Leon Cope, l\1 rs. Scott Campbell,
both of Caro, and Le la, a baby born at
\Vatrousville and who died a t the age
of one year. A granddaughter, i\Iiss Rita
Campbell, al so sun·ives.
Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon at th e 1\[cthodi st Episcopal chruch
in Caro, in cha rge o f the pastor, Rev. H.
vV. ·K uhlm an, who was assisted by other
ministers of th e Detroit Conference, all
old frie nds of !vir. Cop e. Scripture r eadings w ere g ive n by Rev. R. T. K ilpatrick
o f F lin t, chairman of th e board of stewards of the Detroi t Confere nce, and Rev.
Frederic B. ] ohns ton, secr etary of the
pensioners' endowment fund. P rayer was
offered by D r. Howard A. Fie ld, a former
Caro pastor, now superinte ndent of the
Detroi t district. Dr. H. Addis Leeson, another former Caro min ister, gave the memorial address, paying tribute to t he memory of Brother Cope. Dr. William H.
Phelps of Detroit, editor of the Michigan
Cl1risti an Ad\'oca te, a nd Dr . Field also
spoke of the fe llowship they had known
with th e ag ed minister. Closing prayer
was offered by Dr. D. H. 'Glass of Saginaw, super in tende nt of the district.
Officers a nd m embers of Mt. M oriah
Lodge, F. & A. M., had charge of th e
se n ·ices at the g rave, buria l being made
in E lli ngton cemetery in the fa mily lot
oi his father, beside t he g rave of M rs.
Cope.