Vanya Jonathan Cooper

Vanya J. Cooper passed away January 24, 2025, in Tucson, AZ. He was preceded in death by his parents, Evelyn and Woodrow Cooper, and sister Marshia Carcamo. He leaves behind his brother and sister-in-law Wayne and Nancy Cooper, 3 generations of nieces and nephews, his daughter Maura Foster, and 3 grandchildren.

Vanya grew up on the outskirts of Philadelphia in Media, PA, climbing trees and searching the woods surrounding his house for arrowheads and other treasures. He gave his parents quite a time, disassembling things, drinking liquids stored under the sink, and generally following his curiosity wherever it took him. He was an Eagle Scout and for his all his life was more contented sitting outside, near a campfire under the sky and the trees, than anywhere else.

When he finished high school, he decided to make his way across the country. When he got to Tucson, AZ his VW broke down and he was out of money, so there he stayed. He got by for a while working in the Yellow Submarine sandwich shop, periodically silk-screening T-shirts for the Food Conspiracy Co-op, and photographing jewelry for Piney Hollow.

While taking some classes at Pima Community College, his natural abilities in math and problem-solving led them to offer him a job at computer programming before he had finished his AA degree or much of the world had seen a computer. He ended up working for Pima for 30+ years, both on the school's computer network and teaching night classes in computer sciences, retiring as Team Lead, Systems Administration.

He was a natural tinkerer and creative thinker. He could fix just about anything that was broken, including that old VW, which he eventually managed to keep running for several more years. He loved learning. He was an avid reader of literature, his favorite being science fiction. He had a dry, playful sense of humor. He particularly loved The Far Side and The Simpsons, and had comics from over the years covering his fridge and office bulletin boards.

He had this magical, deep understanding of the way things worked and how numbers related to each other. His daughter would call him to get help with her college physics homework, and he would not know the formulas for solving the problems but could just "logic" his way to the answer. In 12th grade he got a perfect score on the math portion of the SAT. He was such a humble, quiet man it might be easy to miss, but he was one of the smartest people you could ever know.

He was also adventurous. In his retirement years he learned to sail, pilot a small plane, scuba, and weld. He loved to explore, especially the national parks and U.S. Forest Service lands. He put many a mile on his beloved 1987 Dolphin RV.

He believed in the importance of freedom of expression and valued uniqueness and interesting people and experiences that could give him a new perspective on the world. He loved music, film, and art. He played the guitar and sometimes even the didgeridoo. He found similarly openminded, curious, beauty-seeking people in the Burning Man community, where he made many lasting friends.

He was endlessly patient, a wise old soul and at the same time so young at heart. He was always up to roller skate, play putt-putt, or horseback ride right along with his grandkids. He is irreplaceable to all who knew him and will be missed beyond words.

A lifelong conservationist, he cared deeply about minimizing his carbon footprint and protecting our remaining wilderness. He had solar panels on his roof in the 1980s, before they were cool. Following cremation, his ashes will be scattered in the forest, under the stars and trees he loved so well. We will look to holding a celebration of life event over the spring or summer.

From his early years in Tucson, he knew what it was like to be rubbing two pennies together, and he later donated regularly to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. In lieu of flowers or other gifts, please consider donating there or to your own local food bank in his honor.