Renée Kopecky

Renée R. Kopecky, 89, of Bellevue, passed away, Friday, October 13th, 2017 at Mill Valley Care Center, Bellevue, with her daughter, Laurie, by her side. A Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, October 21 at First Presbyterian Church, in Bellevue. Visitation for Renée will be held Friday evening from 4:00-7:00 p.m. at Hachmann Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Bellevue and again after 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning prior to the funeral service at the church. Renée Ramsey Kopecky was born January 15, 1928 to Ralph and Leone (Lund) Baker. Both of her parents were teachers. Her father, who also coached, loved to tell stories about the great Bronko Nagurski whom he coached in high school! Her mother was an accomplished pianist. Renée loved her parents dearly and told many stories about them to her own children throughout her whole life.Her childhood days were mainly spent in St. Paul, Minnesota. She loved school, horseback riding, ice skating and music. Her sister, Nancy Lee, was four years younger, and the two of them spent many summers with their grandparents in Iron River, Wisconsin.Renée graduated from Murray High School in 1945. Wanting to teach young children, she then attended Miss Woods Academy and received a teaching certificate. Later in life, she attended the University of Colorado and graduated with a degree in elementary education.She met her husband, Frank J. Kopecky, while working at the University of Minnesota campus. He was a WWII veteran attending Forestry school at the University. They later married on June 19, 1948.Since Frank now worked for the U.S. Forest Service, this meant moving from state to state throughout his career. Renée managed to teach in each state they lived in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Colorado and then, both retired after working in Portland, Oregon.Renée loved teaching. One year, she even taught her fifth grade class how to knit. It amazed her when she discovered the boys were better knitters than the girls. Another year, when teaching first grade, she brought an old-fashioned tub into her classroom and put some teddy bears in it, along with a few pillows. It became a popular place to read books.Throughout their retired years, Frank and Renée attended hockey games, played bridge, traveled and spent winters in Arizona. Frank passed away February 12, 1999. Renée continued to go to Arizona for the winters with the support of family and friends.In 2004, she met Hank Warnecke. They became fast friends and soon married. The two of them spent six wonderful years traveling the country and spending their winters in Arizona.When Hank died, Renée came to Bellevue. She loved it here. She marveled at how friendly everyone in Bellevue was. She continued her love of collecting teddy bears, teapots and antique dishes. Thanks to several of her new Bellevue friends and family, she could still play bridge, have lunches at the Riverview and Carousel Corner and go on those wonderful bus trips.Renée, as time went by, seemed to know and agree when it was time to go to assisted living and when it was time to stop driving. Again, she joyfully made new friends there, including the wonderful ladies who work at Sunrise Villa.Renée is survived by her children: Laurie (Maury) Anderson, of Bellevue, Jerry Kopecky, of Henrico, Virginia and John Kopecky, of Beaverton, Oregon, grandchildren: Lydia Kopecky, of New York City, Lee Kopecky, of Denver, Colorado, Mark (Katherine) Anderson, of Papillion, Nebraska and Mitchell Anderson, of Dubuque, and a very special great granddaughter, Addison Delilah Anderson, of Papillion, Nebraska.She is preceded in death by her parents, her two husbands, her sister, Nancy Lee Swanson, and brother in-law, Richard Swanson.