Obituary of Edwin Joseph Cooper

Our beloved Edwin “Ed” Joseph Cooper passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on October 31, 2016. He was born on August 18, 1926 in Brentwood, NY to his parents Clarence Cooper and Sabrina Loeffler. Ed was the youngest of three children. In October 1943 he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps and served until November 1945. Ed remained in the Air Force Reserves serving as a 1st Lieutenant until March 1961. In the Air Corps, Ed flew B17s and B29s. Flying remained one of Ed’s many interests throughout his life. In 1950 Ed graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. At Cornell, he was also an active member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity, having held various leadership roles. Ed later went on to study at Columbia University and New York University graduating with a Masters of Business Administration in 1957. Much of his career was spent at Sperry Corporation working on defense systems where Ed met his future wife. Ed married Helen Patricia McCanna, fondly named “Patsy” in September 1961. They were married for more than 47 years. Together they had four children, Pamela, Daniel, Courtney, and Douglas. He and Patsy were the proud grandparents of Carolyn (28), Paul (25), Andrew (12), McKenzie (10), Sarah (7), Harrison (6), and Dylan (3). Ed had an appreciation for the outdoors, he enjoyed boating, skiing, and gardening. Above all, he was a man of faith and will be remembered for his generosity, compassion and happiness he shared with those around him. He was a long-time parishioner of St. Mary’s in Manhasset. Ed is survived by his sister Frances Trick and brother, Eugene Cooper, his four children and seven grandchildren.