Donald E. Cooper

Donald E. Cooper of Littleton, Colorado passed away December 22, 2010. He was born February 4, 1922 in Briggsdale, Colorado to Fred B. and Ola C. Cooper. He married Martha J. Harvey July 20,1946 who preceded him in death. He is survived by son Jim and daughter Jeanne (Steve) Beckman; granddaughter Kristi (Andy) Amick and grandson Craig (Beth) Beckman; great-grandsons Tyler and Logan Amick and Peyton Beckman.

Don spent his youth in Hereford, Colorado where he attended grade school. He and his two brothers, Ralph and Ivan, often worked at their grandfather’s ranch outside of town. Don graduated from Grover High School in 1939. He moved to California the next year and worked for North American Aviation. During this time he helped to build the P51 Mustang fighter plane and the B25 Bomber. Don joined the Navy, shortly after Pearl Harbor was bombed, in February 1942. He served in the South Pacific aboard the Patrol Craft PC 584 for two and a half years. After achieving the rank of Chief Storekeeper he was transferred to a larger ship and served aboard the USS Bullock until the end of World War II. Some of the campaigns Don participated in were the Battle of the Coral Sea off New Guinea, Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands and the invasion of Saipan in the Mariana Islands.

After World War II, Don returned to Greeley, Colorado where his parents had moved. This is when he met Martha or Mark as she was called. Don attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins and the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. After Jim and Jeanne were born Don took a job in Sterling, Colorado where the family lived for a short time until moving to Pueblo, Colorado where they lived for several years. In 1956, Don took a job as Credit Manager for Cummins Diesel in Denver, Colorado. In 1962 he became the Credit Manager for Miller International, the parent company of Miller Stockman and Miller Western Wear. Don retired in 1987 from Miller International.

Having grown up working on his grandfather’s ranch, Don was always willing to help his in-laws, James and Martha Harvey, on their ranches located in Fremont and Park County, Colorado. He, Mark, Jim and Jeanne spent almost every weekend and holiday helping at the ‘Ranch.‘ Don never forgot how to ride a horse and he loved animals. He and Mark continued to drive back and forth from Denver to the ‘Ranch‘ until it was sold in the late 1990‘s. After Mark passed away in 2003, Don continued to live in his home in Denver and he adopted a little dog named Barney who went with him, everywhere. In 2007, he moved to a retirement apartment in Littleton. His family will miss his kindness and caring as well as his wise counsel and quiet sense of humor. He is our hero.