Jesse "Jay" Hardy Cooper Jr.'s Obituary
Jesse Hardy Cooper Jr. or Jay was born on February 19th, 1933, in South Bend, Indiana to Jesse Hardy Cooper Senior and Eula Matile (Mimi) Neal. He graduated from Gulf Coast Military Academy in Gulfport, Mississippi. He then served in the Marine Corps during the Korean war. Jay attended Louisiana State University, where he majored in Speech, Television and Radio. There he met the love of his life Sara Armstrong at LSU. It was a blind date set up by Jay’s mother. They were married on August 18th, 1956. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in 2021.
While attending LSU, Jay was a member of the Track and Field team, the Rifle team, and the Swim team. He really enjoyed Track and Field and his favorite movie was “Chariots of Fire” representing two young runners training for the 1924 Paris Olympic running team. Jay took Sara to many Track and Field events to cheer him on at LSU.
Jay was an incredible professional photographer and owner of Jay Cooper Photography in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and a member of the Professional Photographers of America. His career included owning two studios in Louisiana. He eventually moved himself and his family from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Dallas, Texas accepting a job with Gittings Portrait Studio in Neiman Marcus downtown, Dallas. There he took portraits of governors, local celebrities, and his favorite, actress Sophia Loren.
No matter how many beautiful people he got to photograph, no one’s beauty compared to the beauty he saw in his wife Sara. He always told her how beautiful she was. Jay had a charming way of making you feel like you were the most beautiful, loved lady in the room.
Most will remember Jay for his booming beautiful baritone voice. He also had an amazing singing voice and participated in many church choirs , plays and musicals, such as South Pacific at Baton Rouge Community Theatre, and musicals at LSU.
Jay was an avid LSU football fan and of course a Dallas Cowboys fan. He would yell so loud watching them on TV you could hear him outdoors.
The funeral service will be held on Thursday, January 27, 2022 at 2:00pm in the Wildwood Chapel. Military honors will be rendered at the graveside immediately following the service in section Court of Reflection - Restland Memorial Park.
Funeral arrangements for Jesse "Jay" Hardy Cooper Jr. have been faithfully entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, which is located at 13005 Greenville Ave., at the intersection of Restland Road.
To join this service please click the link:
http://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/68066/hash:BB8C91045EF3F1C5
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