Charles Cooper

Charles Edwin Cooper, 86, of Fort Wayne, passed away on December 19, 2020 surrounded by his family. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 8, 1934, the son of the late William Floyd and Frances L. Cooper.

Charlie married Martha L. (Smith) Gipe on June 2, 1956. They recently celebrated 64 years of marriage. Charlie was a deeply devoted father to their 6 children: Garrett (Jennifer) Cooper, Katherine (David) Bunker, Tim (Sandy) Cooper, Stanley (the late Edna) Cooper, Sandra (Larry) Wegrecki, Jeannette (Fred) Tetreault; and to their 12 grandchildren: Michelle (Jeremy) White, Ben (Brittany) Cooper, Crista (Daniel) Klinefelter, Kate (Shawn) Barth, Jon (Emily Duff) Cooper, April (David) Bennett, Michael Cooper, James Cooper, Larry (Joci) Wegrecki Jr., Chad (Reid) Wegrecki, Ethan (fiancée Angela DesVeaux) Wegrecki, Jessica (Matthew) Starzyk; and 12 great-grandchildren: Micah, Asher, Josie, Flora, Eleanor, Calvin, Henry, Fern, Nash, Daniel, Aliya, and Charlie. He is survived by 5 siblings (Myron, Ernest, Grace, Joseph, Thomas), and several cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by 2 sisters, 1 brother and 1 great-granddaughter.

In 1956, Charlie graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. He worked at the Indiana Department of Transportation for 29 years as an engineer and at Magnavox for 26 years as a programmer. Charlie also served as Captain in the U.S. Army Reserves.

As a civil engineer, Charlie designed highway bridges. With that same skill and care, he also designed and built several personal projects including a backyard playhouse for his young children to enjoy, a bridge on his son’s property, a recycle center shelter with his grandson, a dorm shelving unit for his granddaughter and many home repair and remodeling projects. One project that impressed friends and family alike was an over-the-stairs storage area, complete with a counterbalanced draw-down platform.

Charlie was a compassionate, generous, and faithful Christian man who impacted many people throughout his life. He is remembered for carrying children on his shoulders, chuckling at cartoons with his grandchildren, teaching Bible classes, serving as church treasurer and board member, singing bass in the choir and with his family, helping with homework, reading, working puzzles, competing in Herb Bailey’s math challenges for Rose-Hulman alumni, attending programs for his children and grandchildren, even if that meant traveling a few hours to be there. He wrote his own computer programs for handling tasks for the church and for personal use, long before PCs were popular. He was as brilliant as he was kind. He always put others before himself. He and Martha managed to provide everything from music lessons to braces for their children. He was a strong leader with unchallenged integrity. He loved well and was well-loved by anyone who knew him.

The family will be having a private funeral service, which will be streamed live at: https://m.facebook.com/DOMcCombPineValley/ on Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at 11:30 AM EST.

Burial will take place in Lindenwood Cemetery, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Memorial contributions may be made to Music for the World, a nonprofit founded by his daughter, Katherine Bunker. Visit www.musicfortheworld.org to donate online or send by mail to Music for the World, P.O. Box 1136, West Dundee, IL 60118.

To leave online condolences, please visit www.mccombandsons.com.