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DOLORES KOPEL PAPERS

 Collection
Identifier: WH2079

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

Ranging from 1914 to 2008, the collection includes papers and photographs related to Dolores Kopel's personal life and her professional career.

SERIES 1 PROFESSIONAL CAREER 1954-2008 BOX 1

Correspondence, newspaper clippings, legal papers, articles and programs comprise this series. The documents trace Dolores Kopel's career from her beginning private practice through becoming a United States Trustee to returning to private practice. Also included are papers related her teaching, especially at the University of Denver School of Law.

SERIES 2 PERSONAL 1914-2008 BOX 1

This series contains papers associated with Kopel's personal, professional and political life, including correspondence, invitations, certificates, programs and articles.

SERIES 3 PHOTOGRAPHS 1931-2008 PHOTOBOX 1

Black-and-white and color photographs capture Kopel as an attorney and United States Trustee as well as a child, student, wife and mother. Photographs are arranged alphabetically by topic (attorney, biographical, education, family, home, politics, travel) and then chronologically within the topic. Images range from childhood photographs of her mother, Bess Blanke, in the 1910s to a 2002 portrait of Kopel's family and a 2008 portrait of Presidential candidate Barack Obama with Vice-Presidential candidate, Joe Biden.

Dates

  • 1931-2008

ACCESS:

The collection is open for research.

OWNERSHIP:

Literary and copyrights - as appropriate - have been assigned to the Denver Public Library.

Copyright

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Dolores Blanche Blanke Kopel was born January 8, 1931 in Emmetsburg, Iowa, the only child of Cornelius and Bess Blanche Blanke. She attended a one-room schoolhouse from first through eighth grade in Iowa. Her family moved to Colorado Springs in 1945 where she attended Colorado Springs High School She graduated in 1948. Entering a six-year program, Kopel attended the University of Colorado from 1948 to 1951 and the University of Denver College of Law from 1951 to 1954. She passed the Colorado bar exam in 1954 and set up a private law practice.

When Kopel's husband, Gerald Kopel passed the Colorado Bar in 1958, the couple established Kopel and Kopel. They organized a bar refresher course for students preparing to take the Colorado bar exam. Dolores Kopel also wrote articles, lectured and taught courses at the University of Denver College of Law.

Judge Benjamin Hilliard appointed Dolores Kopel to serve on a panel of ten bankruptcy trustees in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. She served until 1975. In 1979, the U.S. Congress passed the New Bankruptcy Reform Act and U.S. Attorney General appointed Dolores Kopel to served as one of ten United States Trustees. Her jurisdiction included Colorado and Kansas. In May 1986, Dolores Kopel resigned her position and returned to private practice.

Active in numerous organizations, Kopel was president of the University of Denver Metro Law Alumni from 1976 to 1978. She served several terms on the Colorado Bar Association Board of Governors. Governor Richard Lamm appointed her as the public member of the Real Estate Commission. She also volunteered for the Park Hill Action Committee and the Democratic Party.

Dolores Kopel married Gerald Koplowitz in 1952. In 1957, they changed their last name from Koplowitz to Kopel. They had two children, David and Stephen. Stephen died in 1987. David, an attorney, resided in Boulder, Colorado as of 2010. Dolores and Gerald Kopel are retired and residing in Denver, Colorado as of 2010.

Extent

1 Boxes (1 linear foot)

1 PhotoBoxes

Language of Materials

English

PROVENANCE:

Gerald and Dolores Kopel donated the papers on December 29, 2008 and on March 10, 2009. The Kopels also provided funding for processing the collection. Gift, Gerald and Dolores Kopel, 2008, 2009.

SELECTION OF RELATED MATERIAL

The Western History/Genealogy Department has additional collections with material related to Dolores Kopel including:

Gerald H. Kopel Papers: WH1097

SIZE:

Number of Boxes: 1 (1 linear foot)

Number of PhotoBoxes: 1

LOCATION:

WH2079

PROCESSED BY:

Ann Brown

2010

PROJECT MANAGER:

Ellen Zazzarino

Title
DOLORES KOPEL PAPERS
Date
2010
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Denver Public Library, Western History and Genealogy Repository

Contact:
10 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy
Denver CO 80204 United States