Arthur Edward Cooper

Arthur E. Cooper passed away on April 15, 2015. He was born on January 11, 1917 in Southington, Connecticut, the son of Arthur H. and Clara (Rockemer) Cooper. He graduated in 1935 from Weaver High School in Hartford, Connecticut, and in 1939 earned his degree from Farmington (Maine) State Teachers College. His first year of teaching in 1939-1940 was interrupted when he was drafted into the armed services of the United States. He served in the Army Air Corps in the European theater during World War II, and he was shot down while serving as bombardier and navigator on a B-17 Flying Fortress in August of 1943. He was a POW from then until liberated from a prison camp in Moosburg, Germany in April 1945.

After the war he had a distinguished career as an insurance agent for the Springfield, and later the Saint Paul Insurance Companies. He was named field agent of the year for all of New England in 1977.

On September 22, 1946 he married the love of his life, Nora (Gerry) Cooper to whom he was married for 56 years. He is survived by his daughter Cheryl (Cooper) Costello and her husband Jack, of Wellesley, Massachusetts, his son, the Rt. Rev. Mark Cooper, O.S.B. of Saint Anselm Abbey in Manchester, New Hampshire, his son-in law, Steven Campbell of Portland, Maine, his grandsons, John Costello and wife Julie (DeBaggis) Costello, and James Costello, and his great-grandson Sean Costello, all of South Boston. He is also survived by his brothers-in-law, the Most Rev. Joseph Gerry, O.S.B., of Saint Anselm Abbey, Manchester, New Hampshire, and Arnold Hopkins of Millinocket, Maine, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his wife, his daughter Janet (Cooper) Campbell, and his beloved grandson Cooper Campbell.

After the death of his wife and well into his mid-nineties he served as an assistant and host at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, Maine, where he was much loved and cared for by the owners and staff. All visitors who met him loved him for his sense of humor and his kind thoughtfulness. A hard-working and good man, of gentle disposition, he possessed tremendous integrity along with great love for and devotion to his family and many friends. He was a devoted and faithful member of St. Jude’s Catholic Church and its community in Freeport, Maine, the community in which he resided and to which he greatly contributed for 62 of his 98 well-lived years.

Calling Hours will be Monday, April 20, 2015 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Lindquist Funeral Home, One Mayberry Lane, Yarmouth, Maine. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Jude’s Roman Catholic Church, Main Street, Freeport, Maine, on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 11 o’clock.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cooper Family Scholarship Fund at Saint Anselm College, 100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester, New Hampshire 03102