Frederick A. Cooper

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University of Minnesota University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh Yale University

Frederick Cooper Obituary

74, Professor Emeritus, Department of Art History, University of Minnesota. Died at home in Falcon Heights Sept. 25. He taught Art History at the U of M from 1971 until retirement in May. He was also Mellon Professor of Classical Studies at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece from 1982-1985. He lectured and published widely. His most notable book is a four-volume series on the Temple of Apollo Bassitas. He received the U of M's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1991 and many other national honors and grants. From the late 1970s Dr. Cooper spent every summer in Greece directing archaeological projects & mentoring hundreds of students. He valued hands-on learning and applied it to building his house in a Greek village, with help over years from family and friends. Dr. Cooper graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, received a B.A. in Art History from Yale University, an M.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. His focus was Greek, Roman and Early Italian art, but his interests also included contemporary art. Early experience at a civil engineering firm and a fondness for new technology led him to innovative methods in his field research such as the use of GPS mapping and UPC coding of archaeological fragments. Cooper was preceded in death by his stepdaughter, Berta A. Griebel, and is survived by his wife, Helen Bradley Foster; daughters, Laura A. Cooper, Brooklyn, NY and Georgia Margaret Cooper (Shane Thomas) Portland, OR; stepdaughter, Heidi Foster Griebel, Cambridge, MD; stepson, Charles Griebel IV (Molly Cole) Hope, ME; sisters, Susan Anderson and Elizabeth Biele and brother Charles, all of Pennsylvania; and nine grandchildren to whom he was "Pappous" (grandfather in Greek). Donations in his memory to The Leukemia And Lymphoma Society Donor Services or Doctors Without Borders USA.

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Published by Pioneer Press on Oct. 9, 2011.

Memories and Condolences
for Frederick Cooper

4 Entries

Barbara Bradley

October 17, 2011

It’s surprising how much I miss Fred, my husband Peter’s schoolboy friend. I think it’s a measure of his zest for life that he’s on my mind so often. It was always a pleasure to be in the presence of his energy.

In recent years, he spent a bit less time in Greece and more time in Minnesota and so he decided that he must get to know and experience more about this place. So he asked us to plan some trips. Adventuring with Fred and his wife, Brad (Helen to some) was an eye opener. While we were showing them around “outstate”, we saw byways and “antique” shops, eateries, and historical sites that we never knew existed. Even in this last difficult year, he took pleasure in the small trips he could make and even went with Brad to Glacier Park and back in a train suite.

Fred’s natural curiosity extended to small kitchen appliances. He always had an appetite for a good meal and in recent years he found anything invented for specialized cooking irresistible. The Belgium waffle maker and single cup coffee maker were OK with Brad, but when the air French-fry maker arrived from France she declared they had no more room in the kitchen. (He didn’t listen.) We got to see it in action. He’s the only one I knew who actually used his JennAire, energetically overcooking meat.

Along with many others, we enjoyed his and Brad’s company and gracious hospitality and generous spirit. He so loved his life, his work, his students, but above all he embraced his friends and all his family. His absence feels like a very large loss.

Peter Bradley

October 17, 2011

The world shrunk a bit when Fred, my dear friend of six decades, died. He was a man whose curiosity and erudition spanned centuries and continents and whose delight in the discovery of new knowledge never abated. Ever the ardent scholar, he was as well a cineaste, a gourmand, and a collector of kitsch as well as art and artifacts. He’s the only art historian and archaeologist I’ve known who treasured a table lamp made from a color-ful and rhinestone-encrusted bust of Elvis Presley and whose music collection included blues, early rap, traditional Greek music, Frank Sinatra, the Beatles and Carla Bruni.

Something of a clown and cut-up in his prep school years, he underwent a conversion of sorts upon entering Yale University, deciding that scholarly pursuits and the life of the mind were his calling. There were times when Fred’s expositions and exhortations brought to mind a Greek philosopher or a Roman senator, but in the main he was a lovable, concerned and slightly rumpled friend with a notable generosity of spirit.
I will miss him greatly.

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Peter Bradley

October 17, 2011

The world shrunk a bit when Fred, my dear friend of six decades, died. He was a man whose curiosity and erudition spanned centuries and continents and whose delight in the discovery of new knowledge never abated. Ever the ardent scholar, he was as well a cineaste, a gourmand, and a collector of kitsch as well as art and artifacts. He’s the only art historian and archaeologist I’ve known who treasured a table lamp made from a colorful and rhinestone-encrusted bust of Elvis Presley and whose music collection included blues, early rap, traditional Greek music, Frank Sinatra, the Beatles and Carla Bruni.

Something of a clown and cut-up in his prep school years, he underwent a conversion of sorts upon entering Yale University, deciding that scholarly pursuits and the life of the mind were his calling. There were times when Fred’s expositions and exhortations brought to mind a Greek philosopher or a Roman senator, but in the main he was a lovable, concerned and slightly rumpled friend with a notable generosity of spirit.
I will miss him greatly.

David Thorpe

October 2, 2011

With sadness I learned of the passing of Fred who touched my life many years ago as a young architecture student.
He agreed to mentor me on my undergraduate thesis and invited me to spend the Summer of 1979 as his apprentice working with him in his archeological researches in Greece. I fondly recall his sharp wit, intellectual curiosity and deep knowledge of his field. I saw him by chance but one other time since that summer but remember him well. He was always the real life "Indiana Jones" to me.

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