Edwin Branan Cooper M.D. Jr.

1942 - 2021

Edwin Branan Cooper, Jr, M.D.
July 3, 1942 - September 10, 2021
Kinston, North Carolina - Edwin Branan Cooper, Jr, M.D., died September 10, 2021, in Greenville, North Carolina. His time of death – 5:57 pm – coincided with the exact minute of his beloved wife, Mary Bryan, on Feb 17, 2018. Ed or "Dr. Ed", as most people called him, was surrounded by family as he gently slipped away.
Born July 3, 1942, in Dothan, Alabama, he was one of two children of Colonel Edwin Branan Cooper, Sr, and Margaret Pringle Cooper. Ed was a gifted orthopedic surgeon, community leader, and, most importantly, a beloved father and husband. He served in the United States Air Force as a Captain and later returned to Kinston, North Carolina, where he and his wife lived for over 40 years.
A graduate of Duke University, Ed went back to complete his orthopedic surgical training at Duke, before moving on to Charlottesville, VA; Dover, DE; Roanoke, VA; Durham, NC; and Kinston, NC, and Topsail Beach, NC with a brief stop back in Charlottesville in between.
Ed was an active participant in many organizations, most notably the Kinston Rotary Club, Caswell Center, and conducting quadriplegic patient rehabilitation studies, as well as studies on awakening comatose patients. Ed was a well-known speaker on medical issues, traveling frequently to make presentations at various medical conferences and hospitals in the US and abroad. Even after leaving Duke to begin his private practice in Kinston, he returned often for grand rounds and consultations at Duke. He taught a class at Arendell Parrott Academy, where he was also a board member, for nearly three decades. He was the type of person who took an interest in anything important to a member of his family.
Ed is survived by his sister, Claire Cooper Goodsell and her husband David, of Portland, OR, as well as Mr. Branan Wooten Cooper of Landenberg, PA, and his wife, Desiree, along with their two children, Sean and Heather; Dr. James Bryan Cooper of Greenville, NC, and his wife Monica and their children Bryan, Araceli, and Alex; and Dr. Patrick Arendell Cooper of Washington, DC, and his husband, Dr. Nicholas Dobelbower; and his beloved dog, Blossom.
A funeral service will be held on Saturday, Sept 18, at his church of many years, St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Kinston, NC, where he was a member of the Vestry, at 11 am. The service may be viewed live at https://www.youtube.com/stmaryskinston. Burial will follow in Westview Cemetery with family receiving friends following the graveside service. The family respectfully requests that facemasks are worn in this time of the COVID resurgence.
The family would like to thank Susan and Paul Linder for their devoted service to Ed (and Mary Bryan) for many years, as well as the nursing staff and support sitters over the past several months and the staff at Cypress Glen.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the St. Mary's Episcopal Church at 800 Rountree Street, Kinston, NC 28504 (directed to Mary's Kitchen).
On behalf of his family, we will forever miss Ed but are glad to remember his legacy of grace and wisdom, and we are thrilled he is reunited with his wife of 53 years, Mary Bryan Cooper. May we all learn from a humble servant and loving family member.
Arrangements by Edwards Funeral Home & Cremations, Kinston. Online condolences may be expressed at www.edwardsfhc.com.