Robert C. Cooper

Robert C. Cooper, age 88, died on September 1, 2010 at Westminster Canterbury, Winchester, Virginia. The youngest child of William C. Cooper and Eva Maud Francis Cooper, he was born on May 31, 1922 in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

Mr. Cooper graduated from high school in 1940 in Weston, WV and attended Potomac State College in Keyser, WV. He was attending George Washington University when he entered in the Army Air Force in February 1943. He served for three years in W.W.II ending his service in the Philippines. Upon his honorable discharge in 1946, he finished his college education in 1948 at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buchannon, WV. For the next couple of years, Mr. Cooper worked as a salesman for Swift and Company and for the H. J. Heinz Company. It was during one of his travels that he was reacquainted with a Potomac State classmate, Nelva Jean Rafter, whom he married in March 1950 in Charleston, WV. He began his career with the Social Security Administration that same year in Washington, D.C. In 1953 he accepted a transfer to the Winchester District office where he worked as a Field Representative until his retirement in 1979. Over those years, he met and befriended many people throughout the Shenandoah Valley and panhandle of West Virginia. He often was referred to as "Mr. Social Security".

Mr. Cooper was a long-time member of Braddock Street United Methodist Church. He was also a Past Master and Honorary Member of Winchester Hiram Lodge No. 21 A. F. & A. M. and a Past District Deputy Grand Master of the Third Masonic District. He enjoyed time volunteering at the Winchester Medical Center, gardening, playing golf with friends, and spending time in his workshop working with various woods in a variety of projects. Mr. Cooper was instrumental in establishing the Shenandoah Fellowship Foundation in 1972. Through many years of fundraising, determination, and dedication, this foundation's board over sought the building of Winchester House, a housing complex for the elderly and disabled which opened in 1979. He received the 1986 Winchester-Frederick County Citizen of the Year award for his vision and leadership towards these endeavors.

He is preceded in death by his sister, Regina, his two brothers, Russ and Ruhl, and his wife of 55 years, Nelva Jean Cooper, who passed away on September 5, 2005.

Surviving are three daughters, Susie Hildebrand and her husband, Michael, of Richmond, Sally Moore and her husband, Glenn, of Winchester, Megan Pugh and her husband, Mark, of Winchester, six grandsons, Brian and Daniel Hildebrand, Scott and Rob Moore, Michael Pugh, David Pugh and his wife, Clarissa Sweet, and several nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held on Friday, 6:00-8:00p.m., at Jones Funeral Home in Winchester, VA. A memorial service will be held at Braddock Street United Methodist Church on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. Dr. James A. Hewitt, III, Rev. Sara E. Pugh, and Rev. William Anthony Layman presiding. Interment will be at 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Mt. Hebron Cemetery. Mr.Cooper's pallbearers will be his six grandsons.

Memorial contributions may be made to: The Masonic Home of Virginia, c/o Winchester Hiram Lodge, P.O. Box 1488, Winchester, VA 22604, Blue Ridge Hospice, 333 West Cork Street, Winchester, VA 22601, or to a charity of your choice.

The family wishes to express its sincere appreciation for the outstanding care and loving support from the staff at Westminster Canterbury and from Blue Ridge Hospice caregivers.

Online condolences may be left at
www.jonesfuneralhomes.com

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