George Cooper

George L. Cooper
1920¬-2020
George Lawrence Cooper, age 100, died at his residence on December 14, 2020. He was surrounded by family. His fervent wish was to be reunited with his beloved wife, Ruth who, at age 93, preceded him in death on November 27, 2015.
George was born in Manila, Philippines Islands to Lawrence and Prisca (Edrozo) Cooper. He and his family led an idyllic life growing up in an affluent area just outside of the city. Cooper’s childhood days were filled with inventive adventures, including building a sailboat to navigate rivers to the waters of Manila Bay.
After high school, following in his father’s footsteps, he was determined to study at Kansas University. In 1940, he kissed his family goodbye and set sail on a ship bound for the United States. George needed to earn college money and headed to Ypsilanti, Michigan for a job a friend helped him secure. There, he met the love of his life, Ruth Jean Smith. World War II put university goals on hold and George entered pilot training with the Army Air Corps. Unwilling to put his relationship on hold, George proposed. The couple married in1942 in Oklahoma City as George continued flight training for the war and became a B¬25 bomber pilot. Their partnership would last 73 years.
He flew many perilous missions including the November 2nd Bombing of Rabaul. After completing his missions he returned home as a flight instructor, and then signed up for a second tour to have the opportunity to learn the fate of his parents and siblings who had been under Japanese occupation in Manila during the war.
Through the war years, Ruth raised the couple’s first daughter, Priscilla, while living with family in Wisconsin and Washington. After the war, the couple made their home in Lawrence, Kansas, while George finished his engineering degree at KU. They added four more girls and one boy to the family. George prospered in his career as a mechanical engineer, working for Bendix Corp., Proctor and Gamble and as a vice president for Puritan Bennet Medical Gas. The family lived in Johnson County, Kansas until 1970. With four of his children grown and on their own, George then fulfilled another dream of owning a farm. He moved with Ruth and the two youngest children to Tonganoxie, Kansas.
George and Ruth were active in the First Congregational Church and in the Tonganoxie Community Historical Society, where George served as president and in other leadership roles from 1997 through 2007. He was also a tireless volunteer for the school district, tutoring both elementary and secondary students.
George received many accolades and awards for his military service, engineering skills, and community service. He co¬authored, with Jay Stout, a recently published book covering his war years called, “Jayhawk : Love, Loss, Liberation and Terror Over the Pacific”. His most treasured honor came, at age 98, from his beloved alma mater when he was named 2018 University of Kansas Mechanical Engineering Distinguished Alumnus. He was a Jayhawk, through and through.
He is survived by his six children: Priscilla (Carl) Bailey of Olathe, Kansas, Georgeanne (Jon Baker) Cooper of Eugene, Oregon, Merrilee (Ted Frederickson) Cooper of Tonganoxie, Cathy (Wayne Ranovish) Cooper of Eugene, Oregon, Laurie (Greg) Putthoff of Tonganoxie, and Kevin (Amy) Cooper of Lansing; 15 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, 4 great great-¬grandchildren and sister, Dorothy Linn of Belmont, California.
A memorial will be scheduled for a later date. Donations in his honor may be sent to The Tonganoxie Community Historical Society or the First Congregational Church of Tonganoxie. George was a member of the Kansas Cremation Service. Online guestbook and obituary at www.kansascremation.com.