William J. (Bill) Kopald passed away on June 22, 2023 following cardiac arrest at the age of 80.

Bill was born in New York City on March 1, 1943. He lived upstate in Cortland, NY from the age of nine through graduation from high school, and then he studied sociology at the State University of New York at Cortland. He later studied psychology at the State University of New Mexico.

Bill's first love, however, was music. He worked part-time at the local radio station WKRT while in school. In the early sixties, while working at a radio station just outside of NYC, Bill spent a year with the legendary record producers and song writers Feldman Goldstein and Gottehrer (FGG Productions) in New York's Brill Building.

His career was interrupted in 1965 when Bill was drafted into the US Army. Following basic training, Bill was assigned to White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. In 1966 he was assigned to the first psychological warfare group sent to Vietnam. He rotated out 13 months later and returned to the US.

Bill spent more than 20 years in radio working in such markets as Baltimore, Philadelphia and on the West Coast where he spent a year working for the Los Angeles Times. In 1971 he returned to the east and got his first job in TV at WNBF in Binghamton, NY. Two years later, Bill and his family moved south to Richmond, VA, where he spent the next five years. Then, in 1979, Bill was offered the primary anchor position at WFMY in Greensboro, NC. He was most proud of the fact that in 1984 and again in 1986, Bill's six o'clock newscast was the number one, most watched in the USA, with a 45% viewership.

While at WFMY, Bill created and hosted a syndicated radio program, "At The Beach," which was heard throughout the Southeast. Bill's career in broadcasting enabled him to meet and become friends with many of the artists he grew up listening to on the radio.

Bill left broadcasting in 1993 but chose to remain in Greensboro. He spent the next 10 years at James A. Fyock & Associates in Winston-Salem. At the time, it was one of the largest public relations agencies in the Southeast. Bill became a vice president in 1998 and left the firm in 2003. It was then that Bill formed Sandstone Communications, a public relations firm whose clients included Nucor Steel, Eastman Chemical, Dentsply USA  and the Home Furnishing Alliance. Bill spent the remainder of his career as a litigation communications consultant working with more than 40 law firms on the East Coast. His primary focus was to prepare physicians and other health care providers for deposition and trial in medical malpractice lawsuits. He continued to work from Myrtle Beach, SC, where Bill and his wife, Susan, also enjoyed an active social life with many friends.

Bill's life came full circle in 2000 when he was invited to join the board of directors of the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was elected chairman. Bill established a long-term relationship with the Mike Curb Family Foundation in Nashville, TN. Together, they created the NC Music Hall of Fame Museum in Kannapolis and the annual induction ceremony. Its mission is to recognize and pay tribute to the hundreds of vocalists, musicians, composers, and music producers who were either born in NC or spent much of their life there.

Bill was a long time communicant at St. Francis Episcopal Church where he served as a lectern, member of the vestry, and on various other committees. He was also involved with the Greater Greensboro Chamber of Commerce and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Bill is survived by his wife and best friend of 38 years, Susan Lowder Dry Kopald, and his twin daughters: Jennifer Kopald Parkes (and Stuart) of Droitwich Spa, England and Jessica Kopald Crawford (and Scott) of Kernersville, NC, three grandchildren: Anna, David, and Sophia, a brother Ken Kopald (and Barbara) of San Diego, two sisters: Kathi Roberts (and George) of Vestal, NY and Hilton Head, SC and Susan Dear (and Bill) of West Chester, PA, as well as his dear friends in Greensboro and Myrtle Beach.

A memorial service will be held on July 15, 2023 at 11:00 am at St. Francis Episcopal Church, 3506 Lawndale Drive with the reverend Milton C. Williams officiating. The Commendation will be conducted in the church Memorial Garden. A light reception will follow the ceremony.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Humane Society of the Piedmont. https://www.hspiedmont.org/donate