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MAIN INDEX CLASS OF 1959 CLASS MEMORIES REUNION INFO

 
   
Name: Jerry G. Cooper
Spouse: Charlene Sue Wermer Cooper
Address
DECEASED 2017,
Phone Number
Email Address
Personal Website

Class of

1959 Attended from through

Graduated Here?

Yes   

If graduated elsewhere, graduated from:

College Attended:

     
Birthdate: April 26, 1941   
Date of Death: June 16, 2017  
       

Current Occupation:

 

Notes:

Jerry Glen Cooper, 76, of Fort Wayne, passed away at 10:50 p.m. Friday, June 16, 2017, at Visiting Nurse Hospice Home, Fort Wayne. Mr. Cooper was born April 26, 1941 in Columbia City, to Robert Earl and Elizabeth Mae (Orcutt) Cooper.

He graduated from Columbia City Joint High School in 1959. He served the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1965, receiving an Honorable Discharge and medals in marksmanship, then became a machinist for various businesses around Fort Wayne.

He was married to Charlene Wermer, of Van Wert, Ohio, Sept. 9, 1980. He retired from H&W Tool Company in New Haven in 2011, but remained very active by focusing on his many creative interests such as building unique motorized vehicles and using CNC machines and manual tools to carve interesting wooden objects.

He was best known for his little red truck, called The Beast, based on the chassis of a 1968 VW Beetle, with pony kegs for gas tanks, dual vertical exhaust pipes, and many other unique aspects. Under the front hatch was a face of a beast that appeared around Fort Wayne every Halloween. He was in the process of adding a smoke generator for the Beast's nostrils and was also building his own electric car.

Survivors include his loving and devoted wife, Charlene; step-mother, Dortha Mae (Gipe-Gradeless-Cooper) Marsh, of Columbia City; two sisters, Carol (Bill) Foster, of Reno, Nev., and Cindy (Dale) Conner, of Altamont, Ill.; two brothers, Steve (Jeannine) Gradeless, of Columbus, Ohio, and Chuck Cooper, of Columbia City; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Larry and Roger; and sister, Ramona Lynn (Gradeless) Wood.

A celebration of Jerry's life will take place Saturday, June 24 at 11 a.m. at Zion Lutheran Church located at 101 E. North St., Columbia City. Guests are invited to bring their favorite photos or written stories of Jerry to share.

Memorial contributions can be made to Visiting Nurse Hospice Home, 5910 Homestead Rd., Fort Wayne, Ind., 46814.

(I>Published in The Post and Mail on June 21, 2017
 
Last Updated: 06-22-2017 Alumni ID: 13330
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