Eric George Cooper

Mr. Eric George Cooper, of Chapin, SC, passed away peacefully on the morning of Saturday, December 19, 2020. He was 96 years old. Mr. Cooper was born in London, England, on August 27, 1924. He served in the Royal Fleet Air Arm (FAA), one of the fighting arms of the Royal Navy during WWII and spent the bulk of his service duty aboard the H.M.S. Implacable, an aircraft carrier assigned to England’s Pacific Fleet. Mr. Cooper moved to Canada, then immigrated to Buffalo, NY, and later to California where he became a U.S. citizen in 1958. He met Gwen, his wife of 60 years in Oakland, CA, where he became “Daddy” to daughters Christine and Laurel. Mr. Cooper transferred to Orangeburg, SC, in 1962 with the former SCM Corporation. He was responsible for establishing their Tool & Die Apprenticeship Program in addition to his Engineering Management duties. Mr. Cooper retired from the Columbia Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel Plant in 1986, where he served as Manager of Manufacturing Engineering and held patents for tools and machinery. During his tenure at Westinghouse, Mr. Cooper opened The Sweet Shoppe Ice Cream Parlor on Decker Blvd., where he was affectionately known as “Mr. C” by the local teens. Mr. Cooper was a dog lover, an avid golfer, a lover of British Premier League Soccer and was a loyal fan of Arnold Palmer and the Arsenal Football Club. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper enjoyed their retirement from various locales, including Winter Haven, FL, Bradford Village in Santee, SC, and the towns of Irmo, Lexington, and Chapin, SC. Mr. Cooper is survived by his wife Gwen Cooper of Chapin, SC, daughters Christine Fort of Coble, TN, and Laurel Gillespie of Batesburg-Leesville, SC, son Adam Cooper of Catawba, NC, brother Roy William Cooper (Joan) of Southampton, England, grandchildren Beth, McCade, and Slade, and great-grandchildren, Aria and Reed. He was predeceased by brother Ronald “Tim” Charles Cooper (Grace) of Canada and sister Dorrie Judge (Len) of England. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 16th, 2021 at 3pm at Thompson Funeral Home, 4720 Augusta Rd. Lexington, SC 29073. The family will receieve friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.