James Eugene Cope, age 70, passed away on June 27, 2026, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He was born on January 7, 1956, in Regensburg, Germany and lived a life marked by hard work, humor, and a deep appreciation for his family, and the joys of hunting, fishing, and being out on the water with his children and grandchildren.

James was known for his military life and loving his family very much. From his wife, Donna and their three children, Joe, Jamie, and James Donovan, 13 grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren. He loved seeing his great grandchildren and the way they showed how much they loved him too. From Penelope and Hazel spending a lot of time with them and listening to them sing and dance for him, to Makenlee and Caige (Bubba). James was known as grandpa Shark and Caige loved to run and get into Grandpa Shark’s chair when he got out of it. Then came our Ave who is always acting like a dinosaur and grandpa laughing. He loved watching him since he didn’t get to see him very much, living in Arizona. Then his youngest two baby dolls Mila and Alia. James loved getting pictures and updates on what the girls were doing from learning to walk and learning where their hair, eyes, and ears were. James enjoyed teasing Donna by asking if she got any videos or pictures from Taylor of the girls and if she said no, he laughed and would say, “I did”, and would wiggle his phone in front of her. He loved to go out and watch his grandchildren when they wrestled, play soccer, and football. When the girls started playing softball, he sure enjoyed that. He would take his one granddaughter Jayden to practice and sit out there watching her practice and games. Him and Jayden would watch college girls softball on tv. One day Jayden came out with a new pitching style. He laughed and knew it was from watching them college girls game that weekend together. She was his little shining star.

He had a special love for all of his grandchildren, Alex, Bryson, Kyle, Trenton, Jason, Cody, Sydney, Maria, Taylor, Jayden, Allison (Red), Aubury, and Elie.

He went to school all over the place since his dad was in the military. He went to school in Tulsa, California, Kansas, and Adair where he met the love of his life, Donna. He also attended a school in New York until he joined the Army at 17 years old.

James had decorations, medals, and badges. He had the Army Commendation Medal 3rd OCC, Army Achievement Medal 1st OCC, Good Conduct Medal 6th OCC, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, NCO Professional Development Ribbon – 3, Army Service Ribbon, SW Asia Service Medal W/2 Bronze Service Stars, Saudi Arabia/Kuwait Liberation Medal, Expert Marksmanship Badge Rifle M-16, and the Meritorious Service Medal. His primary specialty was 63C40, Track Vehicle Mechanic for 11 years, and 630 SP FA Sys Mech for 8 years and 8 months.

James loved being with his mom and dad and siblings because his sister always waited hand and foot on their “baby” brother that they all sure did love.

He is survived by his wife Donna, of 50 years, and two of his three children, his daughter, Jamie (Frankie) Jacobson of Adair, OK, and son, James Cope of Mazie, OK; brother, Raymond (Thresa) Cope; sisters, Veda (Tom) Corley, Liz (Tom) Strotman and father Charles Chenvert.

He is preceded in death by his mother, Delnia Rosa Lee Chenvert; son, Joey Chamberlain; sister, Carol Wilson; and grandson, Caden Cope.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, July 2, 2026, in the Shipman’s Funeral Home Chapel with Reverend Willard Kiper officiating. Interment will follow in the Benge Cemetery with Alex Grino, Bryson Grino, Trenton Cope, Kyle Cope, Cody Mathis, and James D. Cope serving as casket bearers. Will Markle will serve as an honorary casket bearer. A visitation will be held from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at Shipman’s Funeral Home in Pryor. To leave a personal message, please visit his guestbook at www.shipmansfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are under the direction of Shipman’s Funeral & Cremation Service of Pryor.