Jacob Henry Copper was my twin brother. He was my best friend. He was everything to me. He shared his space with me. He shared his interests with me. He shared his friends with me. He shared his life with me.

If there is one thing to know about Jake, it is that he was a sponge. He soaked up information and if you gave him a squeeze, he could give you the information you wanted. I remember a quiz bowl tournament in high school, the rest of our team had to bail for other commitments. No problem for Jake. He won the tournament almost single-handedly, letting me help a little.

Being Jake’s twin brother wasn’t easy. He could be willful and stubborn. Sometimes he didn’t give a damn about something that I needed him to give a damn about. Sometimes he’d complain about something, refuse to tell me how he wanted me to fix it, and then complain about what I did to help him!

Being Jake’s twin brother was the only thing that mattered to me. He put up with my moodiness. He always forgave me when I said I was sorry. When I was sick or hurting, I would lie down at his feet to be close to him. When I was in the hospital, or waiting at 1 a.m. to pick him up from work, when I saw Jake coming, I would light up.

It wasn’t just space that Jake and I shared. He always seemed to find new and interesting things to do. Fortunately, our interests were mostly the same and he shared his activities with me.

Jake graduated with a BA in political science. In high school, he participated in policy debate and went to Washington to attend the National Youth Leadership Conference. He was a registered voter and made sure to exercise his right, and made sure I did, too.

Religion was the only interest Jake and I didn’t share. Shame on me, I know. Jake had a minor in religion and blogged about the Catholic Church for a number of years until his health went downhill. His blog didn’t have many readers. But the month before he died, he was invited to appear on a TV show to talk about recent happenings with the pope. Someone saw his blog.

Jake’s interest in religion wasn’t just academic. He attended Traditional Latin Mass and received the sacraments as often as he could. He was a third degree member of the Knights of Columbus.

But it was his love of J.R.R. Tolkien that gave Jake the most satisfaction. Through his love of Tolkien, he found kindred spirits on the internet who all spent their time discussing theme and role playing.

Jake’s interest in Tolkien also led us on a grand road trip to visit a couple of those kindred spirits he’d met online. I drove most of the way to Massachusetts and back. Jake slept a lot. Which was a boon because he was a shameless back-seat driver! We stayed with his friends. We slept in strange hotels. I got lost in Canada. We had an adventure.

Later on, there were still some good times. Jake and I enjoyed sitting in the truck, watching people come and go at Casey’s. There was also the kindness and friendship shown to us by so many good people who helped us with our disabilities. But time was not on Jake’s side and the bad got worse. Jake had surgery. He was unable to swallow. He was in and out of the hospital for pneumonia and digestion issues. And then in the last couple of years, there was the paralysis and immobility.

Jake and I didn’t always agree. We didn’t always tell each other everything. But we shared the things that mattered. We took care of each other. We understood each other. And we lived for each other. Because we were identical twins. And there was no one else more important.

Sam Copper is the identical twin brother of Jake Copper. The brothers are the sons of John Copper and Lisa Hall. They were born in Fort Dodge and grew up in Okoboji, where they graduated from high school.