Paul Patterson Cooper Jr.'s Obituary
Paul P. Cooper, Jr. passed away on Thursday, October 19, 2023. A resident of Dallas all his life, he was 104 years old. Paul was an Honors graduate of Forest Avenue High School in Dallas, and married Dorothy Leigh Walraven of Dallas in 1939. Paul and Dorothy had three children – Nancy, Helen and Paul III. Dorothy died in 1987. Also preceding him in death were Doris Goolsby Cooper, Doris Wilkes Cooper, and Ann Easley Cooper.
Paul served in World War II in the Philippines, coming ashore under fire at Luzon and Leyte with the First Cavalry Division. He finished the war as a Master Sergeant in the Army of Occupation in Japan.
After the war, he began his career in the field of insurance and surety bonding – first with the Employers Group, and then with the Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland, where he became Manager of their Dallas Branch Office, retiring from that position in 1983. Outside the office Paul was extremely active in church work and Boy Scouting, serving as both a deacon and elder at the Highland Park Presbyterian Church, and Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 82.
After his retirement, Paul spent the next 40 years actively pursuing his passions of HO model railroading, square dancing, and socializing with his friends. He was an active member of the Swingin’ Saints square dance club for many years. When asked recently if he was ever forced to curtail his activities because of aging, he thought a moment and said, “Well I had to give up square dancing when I was 94 because of my knees”. Despite the creaky knees, Paul could be found well into his 90s underneath his model railroad layout, rewiring things for the new digital technology.
A woodworker and home fixit man all his life, Paul was quite adept with technology. He installed new memory cards in his computer when he was in his 80s and was very active online through the end of his life.
Paul is survived by his three children, eight grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren, and six great-great grandchildren. He was a man of great faith and lived a long and full life. A service will be held Friday, November 3, at 11:00 in Shipp Chapel at Lovers Lane United Methodist Church in Dallas. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution to Paul’s Sunday School class "Redus" at Lovers Lane, or to the charity of your choice.
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