Ronald Cooper

1945 - 2025

Ronald Stephen Cooper was a brilliant, principled, and accomplished lawyer who served both the United States of America and his clients with distinction, first as a partner at Steptoe & Johnson and later as General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the administration of President George W. Bush. In 2019, he was presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. His death in Washington, DC on January 13, 2025, at age 79, is deeply grieved by his family and many friends. Ron is survived by his wife, Carolyn Cooper of Alexandria, Virginia; daughter, Jessica K. Cooper of Richmond, Virginia; and daughter, Stephanie J. Massey, son-in-law, John K. Massey, and granddaughter Lily K. Massey of Atlanta, Georgia. There will be a Mass of Christian Burial on Thursday, February 6, at 10:30 a.m., at the Basilica of St. Mary's, 310 S. Royal Street, Alexandria Virginia, and a luncheon reception the same day at 1:30 p.m. at the Old Dominion Boat Club, 0 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests a donation to the Judge Steve C. Jones Scholarship Fund that provides support for first generation college graduates in the University of Georgia School of Law (law.uga.edu/giving).