Obituary: Lenox Gore Cooper, JR.
Lenox Gore Cooper, Jr. died at home on October 4, 2011, at age 75, in Wilmington. He was born in Wilmington on July 15, 1936, to Lenox Gore Cooper and Mary Benthall Hardin Cooper. He was preceded in death by his parents and grandson David G. P. Cooper.
He is survived by his wife Bonnie Brown Cooper of the home, with whom he was married for 52 years; son Michael E. Cooper and wife Diane of Signal Mountain, TN, and daughter Suzanne C. McKee, of Winston-Salem, NC; six grandchildren: Kathryn B. McKee, Hannah S. McKee, and Sarah Lenox McKee; Stephen Chase Cooper, Reid E. Cooper, and Bonnie Brett Cooper; sister Mary Cooper Safrit and husband Robert of Raleigh; and seven nieces and nephews.
Mr. Cooper's life was characterized by love for his family and many friends; enthusiasm for a wide range of interests including books, music, sports and the outdoors; service to the Wilmington community; participation in the life of his church families; love of his pets; and deep affection for Wilmington, the Cape Fear region, and North Carolina. His friendships included many lifelong friends from his Wilmington boyhood and youth and many treasured friends met later in life.
He was educated in Wilmington public schools except for time away from Wilmington during his father's service in the Second World War. He graduated from New Hanover High School in 1954. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1960, from which he also earned a Masters Degree in Library Science in 1966.
Mr. Cooper joined his father in the insurance brokerage business in 1976, after serving as Director of the Randall Library at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He merged the Lenox G. Cooper Agency into United Agencies, Inc. in 1981, from which he retired in 1996, after a productive and enjoyable association.
During his career as a college library administrator, prior to his service with UNCW, Mr. Cooper served in leadership positions with the libraries of Vanderbilt University, the University of Georgia, and Sandhills Community College in Southern Pines.
Mr. Cooper resided in Wilmington since 1973. During that time, he was active in the community as a member of the Cape Fear Rotary Club; St. James Episcopal Church (junior warden and member of the vestry); Little Chapel on the Boardwalk; and a member of the boards of Oakdale Cemetery (1977-2004, president 1997-1998); the Wilmington-New Hanover County Library Committee; the YMCA; the United Way; and the UNCW Seahawk Club (president 1994-95). He was also a member of the Cape Fear Club and the Carolina Yacht Club.
The family will receive friends at Andrews Mortuary from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, October 7, 2011. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 8, 2011, at Little Chapel on the Boardwalk, Wrightsville Beach. A private interment of Mr. Cooper's remains at Oakdale Cemetery will follow. The family is grateful for the many blessings of family and friendship that Mr. Cooper enjoyed throughout his life and during his illness. In lieu of flowers, a donation to Oakdale Cemetery, 520 N. 15th Street, Wilmington, NC, 28401, Lower Cape Fear Hospice, 1414 Physicians Drive, Wilmington, NC, 28401, or the Little Chapel on the Boardwalk, 2 West Fayetteville Street, Wrightsville Beach, NC, 28480, is suggested.