Cary Wayne Cooper

Cary Wayne Cooper, 84 passed away on Monday, April 8, 2024, in Galveston, Texas.
Dr. Cooper grew up in the coastal Maine town of Camden. He earned his bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine. He then made his way to Texas and earned his PhD in physiology from Rice University in Houston where he met his wife, Kay. After training in pharmacology as an NIH fellow at both Harvard Medical School and the University of North Carolina (UNC) Medical School at Chapel Hill, he joined the faculty of the Department of Pharmacology at the UNC Medical School in 1968. In 1982, Dr. Cooper returned to Texas as professor and chairman of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). He later transitioned to interim dean and then vice president and dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Prior to his retirement in 2013, he served as interim provost. He returned part time as the UTMB faculty ombudsperson until 2019.
Dr. Cooper served as a positive role model and had a lasting impact on many programs, colleagues and students over the course of his career.
In his spare time, he enjoyed traveling, reading, raising cattle, baking pies, and his grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Thelma Daucette Testor; stepfather, Joseph M. Testor; father, Lionel C. Cooper Sr.; and brothers, Penn Lee Cooper and Charles P. Testor.
Cary will be deeply missed by his family. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Kay M. Cooper; son, David W. Cooper and wife, Jane, and their children, "Cary" Anthony and Alan; his daughter, Karen C. Welsh and husband, Rodney, and their children, Devin, Dillon and Katie; his brothers, Lionel C. Cooper Jr. and James M. Testor; and his extended family.
The family would like to thank his caregivers and recognize his special friends, Benito Ramos and Dr. Husong Li.
Services will be private at a future date. The family requests in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the UTMB Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences https://www.utmb.edu/giving/home/memorial-tribute-page or a charity of your choice.