Josephine Copeland

Josephine “Rustie” Marietta Hicks Copeland, 97, went peacefully to be with her Savior on Friday, April 11, 2025, at the Woodruff County Health Center. She was born on October 24, 1927, in Brinkley, to the late Essie (Melvin) and Albert Hicks.
Rustie’s “backbreaking” work experience began at a young age. She worked alongside her Uncle Beck raising cotton and rice on “Sky Ranch” in Hunter. She then went to work for and retired from Wagner Electric in Brinkley. Soon after retirement, she decided she wasn’t finished working and opened Mary’s Dairy Bar in Cotton Plant, where she served up countless ice cream cones and flipped many hamburgers.
Rustie will be remembered for her coconut cakes, miniature fruit cakes, Sunday lunches and her ongoing projects including crocheting, making dish scrubs and sleeping mats out of plastic grocery bags. I can guarantee you that those who are fortunate enough to still have an original “scrubby” cherish it because there is not a  scour pad on this earth that cleans a dirty pan like her “scrubby.”
At the young age of 60, Rusie met and married the love of her life, Virgil Copeland. They enjoyed traveling, being involved in the community, and were active members of the First Baptist Church in Cotton Plant. If Rustie wasn’t playing bingo in church “Fun Day,” she was working her flower beds, planting tomatoes, or mowing the lawn. And if it were Sunday you would find her burning up the road between Cotton Plant and Brinkley. She would drive to pick up her dear brother, Bobby, who she fondly referred to as “Brother” for church. After a full spread for Sunday lunch and most often Bobby’s favorite foods, they would end the afternoon together with a competitive game of cards. Then, she would drive him back to his home in Brinkley.
Rustie was feisty, sassy and had a quick wit. The fiery redhead (that was never allowed a strand of gray) could also be a bit bossy, yet was so easy to love and quick to return the love.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 17 years, Virgil Copeland; 2 sisters, Dorothy and June; and 3 brothers, Bib, Vernon and Bobby. Survivors are 2 “adopted” grandchildren, Lily and Vada, whom she adored; 4 nieces; 1 nephew; and a host of second and third generation families in Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky, Oregon and Texas.
The family would like to extend a very special thank you to all those who cared for Rustie over the last several years. To Brother Mac and Brother Billy, thank you for your spiritual counsel, weekly visits and countless errands, and to the staff at the Woodruff County Health Center, thank you for the outstanding medical support and for loving “Granny” like she was your own.
Rustie was buried April 15 at Cotton Plant Cemetery with arrangements by Fowler Funeral Home of Brinkley. Please make memorials to Cotton Plant Baptist Church, P.O. Box 115, Cotton Plant, AR 72036.