Jack M. Cooper

Jack M. Cooper of Amelia Island, Florida, passed away Wednesday, February 11, 2026.

Memorial services will be held in Hennessey, Oklahoma at St Joseph's Catholic Church at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, February 27th.

Jack was born April 26, 1939 in Silver City, New Mexico to Hampton Cooper and Jessie Foreman Cooper. Jack's love for education started at Silver City High School. He continued until he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from New Mexico State University. Pushing onward into his career, Jack also earned a Master of Science degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from Washington University-St. Louis. Throughout his life, he stayed active in education as a Professor in Management at the Graduate School of Business Administration at Fordham University, Assistant Professor in Management at the University of Missouri, Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University, and Lecturer at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Harvard Business School, and Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida.

Jack's Business and Technology career started after graduating from NMSU when he was offered a highly coveted spot in General Electric's Advanced Engineering Program (AEP). The next six decades took him all over the globe as Senior Vice-President and Chief Information Officer at Bristol-Myers Squibb, SVP and CIO at J. E. Seagram, CIO at CSX Corporation, and VP of Information Technology at the University of South Carolina. Jack served on a number of public and private boards including NMSU, TraceLink, Aviadi Foundation, Concord Communications, Gartner Group Information Technology Executive Program, and School Sisters of Notre Dame.

Jack's greatest passion was his family: Margaret his wife, sons John and James, daughter-in-law, Emily, and grandsons Jackson and Myles. Jack married Margaret Walta on June 12, 1970 at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Hennessey, OK. He loved flying with John as a multi-engine instrument licensed pilot. He loved playing golf with James and never failed to think he "found something" on the range. But his love for Jackson and Myles trumped everything. He read to them constantly as children, doted on them to everyone, and cheered loudest watching them at swim meets.

In addition to the family above, Jack is survived by nieces, Glenda (Jeff) Sears, Gail (Dickie) Scott, Grace (Mike) Moore, and Leah Ann (Sam) Banning.

Rather than flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care, 4266 Sunbeam Road, Jacksonville, FL 32257, or give online at thefoundationcares.org/give