Dottie Copeland

Dottie Copeland—an award-winning floral designer, artist, entrepreneur, barber, and fierce community advocate—skyrocketed to heaven in a blaze of glory on October 26, 2026. She passed away from congestive heart failure at the age of 86, following a lifetime defined by resilience, creativity, and a valiant battle with breast cancer that was profiled by NPR in 2009.

Born Dorothy Anne Flinn in Paducah, Kentucky, in 1940, Dottie was raised in West Alton and St. Charles, Missouri. She graduated from St. Charles High School in 1958. In 1961, a chance encounter at a traffic light introduced her to the love of her life, Denny Copeland. The couple moved to O’Fallon in 1966, where Denny owned and operated the Lindenwood Barber Shop on Elm Street.

Dottie enjoyed a variety of careers and interests throughout her lifetime. In the ‘70s, she worked as a floral designer for Jack Schneider Florist in St. Charles and Karenbrock Flowers in Wentzville. In the ‘80s, she went to college, studied nursing, and worked in that field for about a week. Then she started her own interior design studio in the Frenchtown district of St. Charles. When that business venture flopped, she transitioned to insurance, becoming a highly successful Medicare supplements agent. After that, she launched a lunch catering business with her mother, Emma Flinn, in St. Charles. She also studied art with the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood at the St. Mary’s convent in O’Fallon, drove a school bus, and worked at Dierberg’s. But her most successful venture came at the age of 50, when she went to barber school and joined her husband, Denny, in the family business.

Beyond her career, Dottie was a force to be reckoned with when it came to protecting and defending the hard working middle-class. In May 2003, she launched a successful protest outside O'Fallon City Hall in response to a controversial $200 million downtown Main Street redevelopment plan that would use eminent domain to wipe out small businesses and homeowners to make room for a sweeping retail and residential development. Following intense public pushback, the plan was nixed, and subsequent administrations explicitly stated that any future downtown revitalization efforts would completely avoid the use of forced eminent domain.

In later years, during a bout with breast cancer, she started the Bryan Road Barber Shop, which she owned and operated for several years, often regaling her male clientele with hilarious stories, listening to their marital woes, and sometimes dispensing hard earned wisdom and advice.

But of all her accomplishments, she always said her greatest legacy were her three children. As a mother, she was their greatest cheerleader, encouraging them to defy the odds, pursue their biggest dreams, and gave selflessly so they could thrive and prosper. Her fearless attitude, unconditional love, strength, and determination was unparalleled and was the driving force in their lives. Her motto was “Go for it!”

She was an extraordinary mother whose methods to raising goofy, oddball children were exemplary. She was unconventional, uninhibited, creative and imaginative, and she taught her kids that it was better to be a bright pink flamingo in a brood of brown hens than just another chicken.

In 2020, Dottie moved to Friendship Village in Chesterfield, where she delighted in shocking her faith-based caregivers with the occasional “F” bomb. Her defiant personality, outrageous wigs, theatrical eyelashes, and her collection of hats added a unique and unforgettable flair to the community. During this time, she also became an esteemed member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Dottie Copeland was hilarious and fun, and an inspiration to everyone who knew her. She was beloved for her endearing warmth, compassion, sense of humor and candor. She leaves behind three children (one daughter in St. Louis, one daughter and son-in-law in Tampa, and a son in Los Angeles), one granddaughter in St. Louis, a sister in Washington State, and a loving network of nieces, nephews, cousins, and lifelong friends. Funeral services are private.

Donations in Dottie’s memory can be made to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University.