A former state senator and supporter of the University, W. Louis Coppersmith, died from a heart attack Tuesday night while he was preparing to work out at the Johnstown YMCA, said Cambria County Coroner John Barron.

Coppersmith, who was under a physician's care before his attack, was pronounced dead on arrival at Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hospital in Johnstown at 6:56 p.m., said Reggie Lengyel, an associate at the John Henderson Funeral Home in Johnstown.

Coppersmith and his wife, Marian Ungar Coppersmith, vice president of the University's Board of Trustees, established the Coppersmith Family Renaissance Scholarship at Penn State in May of 1986.

Coppersmith, 60, was a member of Beth Shalom Congregation, the Board of Trustees at University of Pittsburgh, the Board of Visitors at University of Pittsburgh's Law School, the Cambria Bar Association, American Bar Association, Vice-president of the Board of Directors of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, and a former president of the Cambria County Blind and Handicapped Association.

As Democratic state senator from 1969-1980, Coppersmith served as chairman of the Public Health and Welfare Committee. He also worked as a district attorney in Cambria County, said David Cassidy, funeral director for the John Henderson Funeral Home.

Coppersmith, 900 Parkview Dr., is the son of Samuel and Bella Glosser Coppersmith. His parents and first wife, Bernie Evans, preceded him in death.

Surviving Coppersmiths are his second wife, Marian Ungar; children Beth Copper of Philadelphia; Susan, married to Robert Blank of New York City; and Samuel G., married to Beth Schermer of Phoenix, Arizona. His stepchildren are Carol Lynn Barash of Los Angeles and Nan R. Barash of Philadelphia. His sisters are Joyce B. Huber of Westorange, New Jersey, and Norma C. Holzman of Holidaysburg. He is also survived by two grandchildren.

Friends and family will be received at the John Henderson Funeral Home in Johnstown today from noon to 2 p.m. The family requests that contributions be sent to the Cambria County Blind and Handicapped Association, the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, or the University's Coppersmith Family Renaissance Scholarship, said Cassidy.