Obituary of Shawnessey Del Copeland

Shawnessey Del Copeland, known to all as Shawn Copeland, passed away on February 11th in his home in St. Petersburg, FL at the age of 61. He was born on December 5th, 1959 in Apopka, FL and is preceded in death by his parents: Frank and JoAnne Copeland. Shawn is survived by his wife, Barbara; children, Alexandra and James; 3 grandchildren; and his brother, Dirk.

Shawn received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and his MBA in Business Administration from UCF. For the next 24 years, he worked in the following roles at (then) Florida Power/Progress Energy: Director of Metering and Information Systems; General Manager of the South Coastal Region; General Manager of the Southern Region; Manager in Operations, Construction and Engineering; and Operations and Planning Engineer.

In the 15 years that he worked at Tampa Electric, he held the following positions: Director of Distribution Engineering and Operations; Director of Substation and Metering Services; Manager of Grid Operations; and Manager of T&D Operations. His final position at Tampa Electric was as Vice President of Safety where he worked tirelessly to ensure the safety and health of thousands of employees.

Shawn enjoyed the challenge of his work and was known to be a strong leader and a man of integrity, honor, and character. He worked hard to ensure the success of others by mentoring them and furthering their careers. He was fully invested in his work and held himself to very high standards. He was respected by his superiors and by all who worked for him.

Shawn’s greatest joy on earth was spending time with his family. He was a devout and loving husband, father, grandfather, and brother. He took great care of his family and was full of wisdom, compassion, adventure, and fun. He loved his family well, and he will be deeply missed by all.

Shawn will always be remembered as a man who loved God and loved people. His faith in Jesus Christ was the cornerstone of his life, and he gladly shared his love of God with everyone by the way he lived his life, cared for others, and shared his faith.

A gathering of family and friends will be held at 10am with a celebration of life service at 10:30am on Saturday, March 6, 2021 at Faith Covenant Church, 150 62nd Ave NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33702.