Stanley and Eila Coppin met while attending East
Nicolaus High School. Eila is the daughter of Harvey Almer Hiddleson and Susie Irene
Fissel. After their marriage in 1938, they lived in a small house at the back of his
father's ranch. During this time, Stan was the rural mail carrier for Pleasant Grove,
California, and worked at Gladding McBean in Lincoln, California. He made some of the Ram
heads gracing the PG&E building in San Francisco.
Stan and Eila built their own house across from
Pleasant Grove Elementary School, working nights and weekends for about 2 years. They
moved the family into the new house on July 15, 1951, 6 months after their fifth child,
Peggy was born.
Their second son, Curt was killed in an automobile
accident in 1967. Their son Lowell owns his own crane business and lives in Pleasant
Grove. Their daughters, Karen, Cathy and Peggy
all live in Sacramento, California. Karen quit her job as a computer programmer analyst in
1972 to stay home and take care of her children. Cathy works for a computer manufacturing
firm as a secretary, and Peggy is a surgical nurse in the cardiac unit of Mercy General
Hospital in Sacramento.
Stan retired in 1979, after 40 years as a Rural Mail
Carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. He also worked in the rice fields, and as the
caretaker for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery. Each of their children had their turn working
at the cemetery, whether it was watering, mowing or digging graves. Eila retired in 1973.
She worked as an accountant for the State of California Department of Highways. She also
worked as a librarian at the Pleasant Grove branch of the Sutter County Library.
Before Stan's death in 2003, Stan and Eila spent a great deal of time
traveling, pulling their trailer behind them. When home, Stan found time to ride
his bike, and Eila designed and made jewelry. Eila now lives near
her daughters in Sacramento, CA. Stan is buried in the
Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Pleasant Grove, California.