An experience with the Redbird Hockey Club reminded the entire Cope family of their Redbird pride.
Appears InIt started when 5-year-old Grayson Cope attended a “Skate with the Birds” event in December and formed a special bond with senior player Wil Kelly. The two skated side by side all night, and the Cope family later reconnected with Kelly through a series of Facebook posts. A few weeks later, the Cope family was back at the hockey arena with Grayson wearing a sweatshirt with Kelly’s name and jersey number on the back.
Grayson hasn’t missed a game since.
“Grayson’s ISU pride is off the charts,” said Peggy Cope, M.S. ’91, Grayson’s grandmother. “He knows his dad, grandma, great grandma, aunts, and uncle all went to Illinois State.”
Ruth (Humphries) Cope ’61, Peggy’s late mother-in-law, was the first Redbird in the family. Peggy followed, as did her sons Paul Cope ’01 (Grayson’s dad) and John Cope ’11, daughter Dr. Elizabeth Cope ’01, M.S. ’03, and daughter-in-law Rebecca (Holdsworth) Cope ’10, M.A. ’18.
Not everyone in the Cope family started at Illinois State, but they all eventually made their way back home. “When my children started their education, they didn’t all necessarily find their paths right away,” Peggy said. “But they knew they could always come home and could always be a Redbird.”
Peggy Cope spent her career as a teacher. She started teaching in Decatur. While earning a master’s degree at Illinois State, she worked in Bloomington District 87 at Stevenson Elementary School, where she spent most of her career.
She is now enjoying retirement. She volunteers for her church group and is a member of Delta Kappa Gamma education sorority. She gardens, reads, quilts, and enjoys spending time with her family.
She may even attend an Illinois State hockey game in the future—with her hockey-loving grandson.
“Illinois State is something that we have all taken pride in,” Peggy said. “We’ve always loved ISU.”
