Wiliam "Hank" Henry Cooper

Life begins and life eventually ends, what matters most during this time is the "DASH", that little line in between your birth and death date. It represents what you did while on earth and how you spent it, here's Hanks 'Dash'…..

William Henry 'Hank' Cooper, born in Yuma, February 7, 1939, to William Daniel Cooper and Blanche Durr Cooper, passed away April 4, 2020 at his home. He was 81 years young and fought a long, hard battle with cancer.

He was born into the pioneering Cooper & Durr family that settled and farmed in the Yuma Valley. The Cooper farm became the U of A experimental farm. The Durr Ranch was homesteaded by his Grandparents, Henry & Pearl Durr and the Durr Ranch is still in operation today.

A native of Yuma, Hank attended Yuma elementary schools and graduated from Yuma Union High School class 0f '57. During his school years, he took advanced classes and worked with his father at Yuma Tractor Repair, learning everything he would become well known for. He attended Arizona Teachers College now known as NAU and Arizona Normal School, now known as ASU.

As friends were being drafted, Hank enlisted with the United States Army in 1960 and was stationed in Germany. He picked up the language quickly and was always 'voluntold' for jobs in Motor pool due to his high-test scores on mechanics and engineering. His commanding officers recommended Hank for linguistics and he served as a German interpreter and instructor. Toward the end of his military career he was asked to attend West Point Academy, but Hank's loyalty was to his father at Yuma Tractor Repair.

He met and married Billye Cooper in Flagstaff, Arizona. They had two children, Terri & Jack. Hank was a true outdoors man, teaching his kids how to hunt, fish, water ski, camp, drive ATV's, motorcycles and of course mechanics (well at least one of them). Jack was his fishing and hunting buddy. The two would have competitions to see who could catch the big one…..

Hank's career path continued at Yuma Diesel Service (formerly Yuma Tractor Repair) and eventually became part owner in the business. He was sought after for his ability to listen to an engine and know what needed to be done in order to fix it. Hank's first retirement was after he sold Yuma Diesel Service. That retirement didn't last long though, he wasn't a man that could sit idle. He went to work for Bob & Carlos Espinoza for a short time and he finished his career with Tanner Construction Materials after 31 years, as Shop Supervisor. There was not an engine, mechanical challenge he couldn't fix… he was a master of diagnostic, fabricating, designing and engineering. He was also an artist, master storyteller, coronet player and die hard Republican.

Later he met and married, Marie Cooper with children, Tina Wells & Todd Wells and has been happily married for many years. Tina being the outstanding hairdresser kept Hank looking handsome and Todd helped with construction projects, as they both like to "tinker". They celebrated their completions with a cold one or two.

Favorites of Hanks; white shirts, white cars, saving money, traveling via car (side adventures were the best), fishing, hunting, talking politics, giving the local government officials a hard time, smoking a great stogie, enjoying a couple of cold beers, singing by the camp fire, sneaking sweets when he thought no one was looking, good ol' juicy steaks, working on hot rods, driving them fast and burning rubber, getting coffee at his favorite gas station, working on crossword puzzles and his never ending thirst for knowledge.

Hank was a 52 year member of the Elks Club 476 of Yuma and had helped with numerous fundraisers. He also volunteered with CCS and many other charities along with his wife Marie.

Hank is survived by his wife, Marie Cooper of Yuma, his son, Jack (Bobbie) Cooper, daughter, Terri (Markus) Zimmer, Todd Wells of Yuma, Tina Wells of Yuma, grandkids; Alexandra, Brigitte & Luke Zimmer of Scottsdale, Stone Wells of Colorado Springs, CO, Madison Cooper of Yuma. His sister, Vera Jean Hubble of Tucson, his nephews; Paul (Lisa) Hubble of Tucson, Steven (Pam) Hubble of Tucson and David (Yvonne) Hubble of Tucson. His cousins, Fred Brandt of Encintas, CA, Bill Brandt of Yuma and Anne Cooper of New York, along with his extended Switzerland family (Anna & Ernst) and many, many dear friends.

Honorary pallbearers; Dave Franklin, Bill Clements, Mike Haxton, Sol Chystal, Pete Golden, Ed Rivera, Don Watson, Darral Bishop, John LeKan, Jason Penny, Fred and Bill Brandt, Tom Keller, Larry Heinzerling, Seth & Gene Tutell, Jerry Irwin, Joel Olea, Beau Pease, Jill Altoff, Allen Kelly, Paul Hubble, Steven Hubble and David Hubble, Manfred Zimmer and George Koenig. Pallbearers; Jack Cooper, Todd Wells, Luke Zimmer, Stone Wells, RJ Fraser, Richard Baughn, Markus Zimmer, Jerry Thomas & Jimmy Ware.

Celebration of Life / Services will be held in October.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Elks Club #476 of Yuma/ Children's Christmas Shopping Spree in Hank's name. Please mail to Elks of Yuma, AZ #476, PO Box 4577, Yuma, AZ 85366-2432.

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