Deborah Kopatz, an Ohio-based Thoroughbred owner and breeder, died May 8 at age 60.
Born in New Castle, Pa., Kopatz owned Fox Chapel Farm near North Canton, Ohio, where she kept a few mares, foals, and yearlings. Her most notable accomplishment in the industry was breeding four-time stakes winner King of the Roxy, who scored his major victories in the 2006 Futurity Stakes (gr. II) and 2007 Hutcheson Stakes (gr. II) and finished second in the 2007 Santa Anita Derby (gr. I).
A 1975 graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Kopatz also operated a bail bondsman company and raised champion English Setter show dogs. She additionally served as a board member for the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and as secretary of Ohio Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders.
Kopatz was preceded in death by her father, John Coleman DeWees Jr.; and stepfather, Jack Schotts. She is survived by her husband, Richard Kopatz; son, Philip Kopatz; mother, Barbara Schotts; and brother, John DeWees.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, May 13 from 5-8 p.m. ET at the Reed Funeral Home North Canton Chapel with the funeral service on Wednesday, May 14 at 11:30 a.m. at Christ Presbyterian Church in North Canton.
