Mancel Cooper

Mancel Napoleon Cooper, 74, made his transition on Thursday, January 3,

2013 at Sacred Journey Hospice in McDonough, Georgia. He was born

on December 14, 1939 in Greenville, South Carolina to James

Cooper and Dessie Sullivan.

Mancel grew up in Greenville, South Carolina and Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania. He earned his GED in 1959 and joined the United States

Army on January 5, 1961. After proudly serving a four year tour, he quickly re-

enlisted on April 4, 1961. Mancel received multiple recommendation letters for

his exemplary service. He also proudly stood as a guard at President John F.

Kennedy’s funeral in November 1963. Mancel was honorably discharged from

the United States Army in April 1964.

In 1967, Mancel embarked on a long and prosperous career at General Motors

(GM), beginning at the Coit Road Plant, in Cleveland, Ohio. He then moved to

the GM Fisher Body Plant in Livonia, Michigan, where he held a number of

positions and earned college credit through Central Michigan University.

Ultimately, Mancel was promoted to Manager of Supplier Quality.

Mancel’s real legacy at GM was teaching. He provided mentorship and

guidance to hundreds of people with a focus on human engagement and

improvement—an idea that he pioneered and brought to the company. Mancel

retired in 1992 after 25 years at General Motors.

After his retirement from General Motors, Mancel followed his entrepreneurial

spirit and founded, WSQ, a successful consulting firm focused on LEAN

manufacturing for auto manufacturers. His work took him across the United

States from Michigan to Ohio, Texas, Alabama, and Georgia, and abroad to

Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Great Britain, and Brazil. In Mexico, where he

was fondly known as “Señor Cooper,” Mancel was engaged in working with

seven different facilities and mentored several young engineers.

Mancel married the love of his life, JoAnne Stoner, on June 24, 1992 in

Southfield, Michigan, and became a loving and devoted father to her two

children, Dawn (Buffy) Alexandria Stoner and Ovander (Kyle) Stoner. For

Mancel, there was a lesson in everything. This is how he lived his life, and this

is how he taught his children. He took fatherhood very seriously and was

incredibly proud of both of his children and the successful adults who they have

become. Mancel and JoAnne were happily married for 20 years.

In his leisure time, Mancel greatly enjoyed golf, travel, gardening, board games,

word games, and chess. Much like his work at GM, Mancel often sought ways

to mentor and connect with others in his community. He dedicated his time to

teaching chess to neighborhood children, by whom he was very beloved.

Mancel was a wonderful storyteller and treasured the opportunity to share

colorful stories from his many life adventures. His words of wisdom were

plentiful, and he had a lesson for every occasion.

Mancel was preceded in death by his mother, Dessie Sullivan, his father,

James Cooper, and his siblings, Charles Cooper, Novella Yancey, Mildred Ann

Cooper, and Terrell (Bill) Cooper.

Mancel is survived by his wife, JoAnne Cooper of Stockbridge, Georgia; his

daughter, Dr. Dawn Alexandria Stoner of Atlanta, Georgia, and son, Ovander

(Kyle) W. Stoner, III (daughter-in-law, Dr. Gabrielle Roberts) of Chicago, Illinois;

his sister-in-law, Carole Dawson and brother-in-law, Frank Dawson of Detroit,

Michigan; his nephews, Imani Dawson of Atlanta, Georgia, and Elombe

Dawson of Detroit, Michigan; and a host of family and friends.

A visitation and memorial service will be held on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

at Horis A. Ward Fairview Chapel, 376 Fairview Road, Stockbridge, GA 30281.

Visitation: 1pm- 3pm; Memorial service: 3pm.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to Sacred

Journey Hospice 138 Peach Drive McDonough, GA 30253 (678) 583-0717;

http://sacredjourneyhospice.org. Condolences may be left on Mancel

Cooper’s online guest book at www.dignitymemorial.com.