Richmond James Cooper

Army Officer/Stockbroker

Lt. Col. Richmond J. Cooper (Ret.), a long-time resident of Alexandria, died April 15, 2011 at his home with his family at his side. He was 84 years old. Lt. Col. Cooper was born in the Philippines on January 2, 1927 to Lt. Col. Avery John Cooper and Ona (Gibson) Cooper. The youngest of seven children, Lt. Col. Cooper graduated from Western High School in Washington, D.C., in 1943 at the age of 16. After one year of military prep school, he followed in the footsteps of his three older brothers and attended the United States Military Academy at West Point where he graduated in 1948.

Fluent in five languages, including English, Spanish, French, German and Russian, Lt. Col. Cooper specialized in the translation of documents and trained to be one of the principle interpreters for President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s scheduled trip to the Soviet Union that was later cancelled after the infamous “U-2” incident in 1960. Lt. Col. Cooper also served for several years as a White House social aide during the Eisenhower and Kennedy Administrations. It was during his time with the Kennedy Administration where Lt. Col. Cooper met his loving wife of 49 years, Janet Felton. They were married in 1962. Lt. Col. Cooper retired from the military after 20 years of service in 1968.

Following his military service, Lt. Col. Cooper worked 37 years as an investment broker for the Washington, DC firm of Folger, Nolan, Fleming, Douglas where he rose to the position of vice-president. He retired from his position at Folger, Nolan, Fleming, Douglas in 2005 at the age of 78. He lived out the rest of his years at his home in Alexandria, Virginia. Lt. Col. Cooper is survived by his wife Janet, his children, Joshua, Hope and Phineas and his grandchildren Eryn and Janet.

Funeral services with Full Military Honors will be held on Wednesday, September 14th at 11:00am at the Ft. Myer Chapel with interment to follow at Arlington National Cemetery. A reception will follow his service at the Army Navy Country Club.