Roll Call Tribute

Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow obituary
8520 W Main Street
Frisco, TX 75033
PH: (972) 335-2444
FAX: (972) 335-2046

Terry Allen Kopfer
October 20, 1972 - August 30, 2017

Terry Allen Kopfer was born on October 20, 1972, in St. Louis, Missouri. Terry learned his incredibly strong work ethic and sense of responsibility from his father, John Kopfer, and his absolutely hilarious sense of humor, as well as his kindness to others, from his mother, Joann Kopfer. Terry was the youngest in a family of four children. His oldest sister, Nancy Sullivan (Nan to her family), got to be part big sis and part mom to him because of their age difference. Having two older brothers, Ja Kopfer and Mike Kopfer, came with all the normal things big brothers bring: both someone to stand up for you against bullies and also someone who was quite good at toughening you up, as Terry would say. Their family was filled with laughter and jokes, and the family gatherings today still exemplify this.

Terry and his family moved to Clear Lake, Texas, when Terry was two, so he spent his life as a Texan and identified as such. He loved Go Texan Day as a child and had so much fun getting to wear cowboy clothes to school for it. Terry started kindergarten with a group of friends from his neighborhood. He was quite lucky to attend school with this same group all the way through their senior year, and numerous shenanigans occurred among this special group of friends. His sports talent was impressive, and there are adorable photos of him going back to preschool days in his sports uniforms. He played baseball, soccer, basketball, football (as a wide receiver) and ran track, though these last two were his true love through high school. He was quite good, but that Kopfer drive had him making the decision to attend Texas A&M University and earn a degree in Mechanical Engineering (with a 3.5 GPA!) instead of attending a smaller school where he could play football. Terry grew up and was confirmed in the Catholic faith, and it was during his college years that Terry really came to a deep faith in God, walking in a relationship with Jesus, which was Terry’s absolute foundation for the rest of his life.

Terry met his wife, Michelle Cowling Kopfer, on a blind date to an Aggie football game in 1992. After a short dating relationship, they went on to build a strong friendship. On January 11, 1995, Terry gazed at Michelle in the middle of a grocery store in College Station, Texas, and knew that he was in love. They were married on June 1, 1996, just three weeks after their college graduation.

Terry was hired by Price Waterhouse after graduation, and during his time working for them learned a niche accounting software used by many of the big oil and gas companies. After multiple mergers at Price Waterhouse, and then a short stint managing all the websites for the Neiman Marcus Group, Terry struck out on his own. He formed TEKO Consulting and worked as a consultant on many large projects for oil and gas companies utilizing his knowledge of the software he learned right out of college. Recently, Terry also began TEKO Outsourcing, LLC, to provide support for the software he had written and sold over the years which was in addition to his consulting work.

Terry’s greatest love in life was his wife Michelle. Terry loved nicknames and he had many nicknames for Michelle, but his favorite was telling her she was his Missy Coke. They were married for 21 years. Terry and Michelle loved travel, adventure, Jesus, their puppy dogs, family, friends, and fun, and lived their life this way. Terry was also an incredibly gifted teacher, working on retreats and leading many small groups and Bible studies over the years. He loved working out, led multiple workout challenge groups in recent years, and Michelle was quite used to the dishes in the china cabinet rattling as he did his workouts upstairs. His ridiculously fabulous sense of humor and his contagious laugh, as well as his love of cooking, made life with him a joy. Anyone who watched Terry with Michelle knew he was just smitten with her.

Terry passed away at his home on August 30, 2017. He leaves behind the love of his life, Michelle Cowling Kopfer of Frisco, Texas; his dear parents, John and Joann Kopfer of Clear Lake, Texas; his sister, Nancy Sullivan and husband Kevin of Puyallup, Washington; his brothers, Ja Kopfer and wife, Lisa, of Clear Lake, Texas, and Mike Kopfer and wife, Katherine, of Sugar Land, Texas.

In addition to his wonderful family listed above, Terry is survived by nieces and nephews on both his and Michelle’s side that he was absolutely crazy about. Note that nicknames were a special thing with Terry so they are included here. On the Kopfer side are Nan’s children, his nieces, Lauren Sullivan Colson (Lala to the family), and her husband, Nick, their son Gavin, and Audrey Sullivan Kagey (Aud-key) and her husband, Tim; his brother Ja’s daughter, niece Claire Kopfer (Zozi or Cluuurrr); and his brother Mike’s children: nephew, Benjamin Kopfer (Ben-ha-meen) and niece, Madeline Kopfer (Made-Line). Terry was quite close to his wife’s family, David and Mary Ellen Cowling of Prosper, TX; their daughter, Lisa Cowling Tschirhart and her son Jaeger (Jaeger Daeger or Little Monkey - and Terry was Uncle Monkey to him) of San Antonio Texas; and their daughter, Anne Mary Cowling Apperson (Anne Murray) and her husband, Christopher (Toper) and their sons David (also Little Monkey - apparently that nickname was transferrable), and identical twins Caleb and Logan (both of whom were dubbed Little Baby, said with much affection). Terry had a thing about nicknames evolving over time; you kinda had to grow into them), all of Highland Village, TX.

A service of remembrance and celebration for Terry will be held at Grace Avenue United Methodist Church of Frisco, 3521 Main Street, Frisco, Texas 75034, on Saturday, September 16, 2017, at 11:30 AM.

Terry and Michelle were involved with many charities. Since one just doesn’t encompass what their priorities and hearts were in their giving, Michelle has chosen some of those they loved the most, ones that really epitomized Terry’s highest priorities in giving. Many of these groups are local, and they do an amazing job of caring for those most in need. Memorial donations may be made to whichever organization speaks most to you:

*North Texas Food Bank (https://www.ntfb.org/donate) - feeding hungry children, seniors and families in 13 DFW counties. *Operation Kindness (http://www.operationkindness.org/pages/waystogive.html) - caring for homeless cats and dogs in a no-kill environment until each is adopted into forever homes. Our first dog Barkley was adopted from here. *Union Gospel Mission (https://donate.ugmdallas.org/general.html) - providing homeless people in Dallas hot food, safe shelter and a chance to reclaim their lives, anchored by the love of Jesus Christ. *Warrior Canine Connection (http://warriorcanineconnection.org/get-involved/donate/) - utilizes clinically based Canine Connection Therapy to help wounded Warriors reconnect with life, their families, their communities and each other. *World Concern (https://worldconcern.org/donate/) - a Christian global relief fund and development agency extending opportunity and hope to people facing extreme poverty. They provide clean water and food, help educate children, provide disaster relief...the list goes on and on, for the very most destitute in our world.


Celebration of Life
Saturday, September 16, 2017
11:30 am
Grace Avenue United Methodist Church
3521 Main Street
Frisco, Texas 75034