S.J. Coppic Submitted by Curtis A. Hannah The Key, 1995 Fort Smith Newspaper September, 1930 "Body of Aged Man is Found at Jenny Lind" S.J. Coppic Killed in Fall from Second Floor Door, Coroner's Jury Finds at Inquest held Monday Jenny Lind, Ark., Sept., 1. S.J. Coppic, 67 years old, widely known resident of Jenny Lind and former merchant, was found dead at 6:30 o'clock Monday morning behind the Clark and Bailey Mercantile store, believed to have been the victim of a fall from the second story of the building. Coppic, who was night-watchman in the store was subject to fainting attacks and it is thought that he fell through a door on the second floor that was found open. No bones were broken and it is believed that death came from shock. A coroner's jury rendeded a verdict that Mr. Coppic "came to his death as the result of injuries received in a fall from the second story of the Clark and Bailey Mercantile building, about 11 o'clock on the night of Aug. 31." Coroner Hugh Johnson of Fort Smith conducted the inquest at 8 o'clock Monday morning. The body was taken to the Fentress mortuary at Fort Smith. Mr. Coppic's chair was found near the open door in the building and it is believed that he fell out of the door as he arose to start his rounds of the building. The stop clock in the store had been punched at 11 0'clock. Relatives asked A. Combs, operator of a store across the street from the Clark-Bailey store, concerning Coppic when he failed to come to his home at the usual time, and Combs started an investigation and discovered the body at 6 o'clock in the morning. Mr. Coppic came to Sebastian County in 1863 from Tennessee. He spent practically his entire life in Jenny Lind and vicinity, having operated a store under his own name for several years. He retired from business several years ago. Mr. Coppic was a member of the Odd Fellows and Masonic lodges of Jenny Lind and the Woodmen of the World of Greenwood. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Sarah Coppic; four daughters, Mrs. W.L. Copeland, Fort Smith; Miss Munsey Coppic, Jenny Lind; Mrs. J.C. McGehee, Fort Smith; and Mrs. John Elliott, Jenny Lind; a son, John Coppic of Fort Smith; and a brother, Frank Coppic of Sulphur, Oklahoma. Funeral service will be held at the home Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock with Rev. H.E. Marsh, Baptist minister of Fort Smith, officiating. Burial will be in the Jenny Lind cemetery at 3 o'clock under the auspices of the Masons. The body was removed to Jenny Lind by the Fentress mortuary Monday afternoon.