Contributions to the tribute of Eric F. Kupchik

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Sunday, June 14, 2026

“HEY, BUDDY” MEMORIES OF ERIC KUPCHIK. BY GARRETT GLASER. 6/14/26 I’m Garrett Glaser, now a retiree in San Diego, but originally a New Yorker. I regret that I cannot attend in person, and I’m grateful to have this remembrance read to those assembled today. Erik Kupchik was my very first friend. We met near the flagpole in Peter Cooper Village on a snowy Sunday. Peter Cooper is a huge apartment development in Manhattan’s East 20s. I was 7 and Eric was 8 1/2. I think it was early in 1960. For me, that early friendship was important and I think it was for Eric, too. We always seemed to get along great. Although Eric loved listening to all the baseball games on his little transistor radio and I always found it boring. Still do. The Kupchiks were kind of a second family to me. Eric's father, Dr George Kupchik, was an expert in environmental health and pollution and all that. Sometimes he’d fill in as the acting Sanitation Commissioner for the City of New York. I was very impressed. George was wonderful. So patient with Eric and everyone really. So positive always. And I could tell Eric was very close to his dad. I remember when George bought a new car, a Studebaker Lark in the early 60s. Eric was so excited when he first saw it. Eric’s mom was Joan Copeland, a legitimate Broadway star. Smart and glamorous, but never afraid to make fun of herself, too. I loved her, especially when she was on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow as the scheming Andrea Whiting. When fans saw her, they’d yell, “When you gonna give him a divorce, Andrea?” Eric and Joan were as close as two people can be. She was a great help to him as he grew up, of course, and she included him in all kinds of grown-up activities. When she’d appear on the United Cerebral Palsy telethon each year, Eric would go along. And sometimes I did too. Joan’s brother was the famous playwright, Arthur Miller and when he married Marilyn Monroe in 1956, well, that meant Marilyn was Eric’s aunt, at least for a while. Once, when Marilyn came to see Eric at home in Peter Cooper, she brought him a hand knit sweater. He saved it, of course, and proudly showed it to me 40 years later out at the summer house in Amagansett. When I was 13 in 1966, Joan and George invited me to accompany Eric and them to Los Angeles for a vacation. I always remembered it. It was my first time in California. So cool! Through it all, it was never really easy for Eric to walk, but he was a champ when it came to overcoming obstacles. He never let cerebral palsy win. A role model to me for being perseverant. My mom and dad and sister, Gail, loved Eric, too. I think they liked his spirit and that he remained such a good friend over the years. He was such a support to me through the decades, after college, as I moved around the country working in the news business. You’d think it would’ve been the other way around. That I’d be supporting him. He was working at CBS in those days, in the mailroom. And he knew everybody. Through thick and thin, we always had our phone calls, usually on weekends. I’d pick up the phone and say “hello” and I’d hear, “Hey Buddy!” Eric’s life changed for the better when he met his wife, Geralyn. She really completed him. It just seemed like a natural fit from the start. Eric Kupchik was a naturally positive, optimistic and kind person. I rarely saw him down. And I can tell you for sure that I’ll really miss him.

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Garrett Glaser posted a condolence

Sunday, June 14, 2026

"“HEY, BUDDY” MEMORIES OF ERIC KUPCHIK. BY GARRETT GLASER. 6/14/26 I’m Garrett Glaser, now a retiree in San Diego, but originally a New Yorker. I regret that I cannot attend in person, and I’m grateful to have this remembrance read to those assembled today. Erik Kupchik was my very first friend. We met near the flagpole in Peter Cooper Village on a snowy Sunday. Peter Cooper is a huge apartment development in Manhattan’s East 20s. I was 7 and Eric was 8 1/2. I think it was early in 1960. For me, that early friendship was important and I think it was for Eric, too. We always seemed to get along great. Although Eric loved listening to all the baseball games on his little transistor radio and I always found it boring. Still do. The Kupchiks were kind of a second family to me. Eric's father, Dr George Kupchik, was an expert in environmental health and pollution and all that. Sometimes he’d fill in as the acting Sanitation Commissioner for the City of New York. I was very impressed. George was wonderful. So patient with Eric and everyone really. So positive always. And I could tell Eric was very close to his dad. I remember when George bought a new car, a Studebaker Lark in the early 60s. Eric was so excited when he first saw it. Eric’s mom was Joan Copeland, a legitimate Broadway star. Smart and glamorous, but never afraid to make fun of herself, too. I loved her, especially when she was on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow as the scheming Andrea Whiting. When fans saw her, they’d yell, “When you gonna give him a divorce, Andrea?” Eric and Joan were as close as two people can be. She was a great help to him as he grew up, of course, and she included him in all kinds of grown-up activities. When she’d appear on the United Cerebral Palsy telethon each year, Eric would go along. And sometimes I did too. Joan’s brother was the famous playwright, Arthur Miller and when he married Marilyn Monroe in 1956, well, that meant Marilyn was Eric’s aunt, at least for a while. Once, when Marilyn came to see Eric at home in Peter Cooper, she brought him a hand knit sweater. He saved it, of course, and proudly showed it to me 40 years later out at the summer house in Amagansett. When I was 13 in 1966, Joan and George invited me to accompany Eric and them to Los Angeles for a vacation. I always remembered it. It was my first time in California. So cool! Through it all, it was never really easy for Eric to walk, but he was a champ when it came to overcoming obstacles. He never let cerebral palsy win. A role model to me for being perseverant. My mom and dad and sister, Gail, loved Eric, too. I think they liked his spirit and that he remained such a good friend over the years. He was such a support to me through the decades, after college, as I moved around the country working in the news business. You’d think it would’ve been the other way around. That I’d be supporting him. He was working at CBS in those days, in the mailroom. And he knew everybody. Through thick and thin, we always had our phone calls, usually on weekends. I’d pick up the phone and say “hello” and I’d hear, “Hey Buddy!” Eric’s life changed for the better when he met his wife, Geralyn. She really completed him. It just seemed like a natural fit from the start. Eric Kupchik was a naturally positive, optimistic and kind person. I rarely saw him down. And I can tell you for sure that I’ll really miss him."

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Angel Nass planted a tree in memory of Eric Kupchik

Sunday, June 7, 2026

You will surely be missed. Watch over your beloved wife. Join in honoring their life - plant a memorial tree

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Patricia Leonard uploaded photo(s)

Saturday, June 6, 2026

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Patricia Leonard Posted Jun 6, 2026 at 3:49 PM

Eric was a kind and honest gentleman who will be missed. I remember so many great moments with Eric, Joan and Geralen which I will cherish always. Sending heartfelt condolences to Geralen and the Kupchic and Miller Families. .

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A Memorial Tree was planted for Eric Kupchik

Thursday, June 4, 2026

We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ the staff at McCorry Brothers Funeral Home Join in honoring their life - plant a memorial tree

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The family of Eric F. Kupchik uploaded a photo

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Eric F. Kupchik

1951 - 2026

Plant a tree in memory of Eric

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