James Young Cooper, 93, of Mountain Brook, AL died March 17, 2013. Mr. Cooper was born March 20, 1919 in Anniston, Alabama. A gifted athlete, he received the Ritz Theatre trophy for the most outstanding athlete of Anniston High School. He was a team member of the 1939 Birmingham Southern College football team, which was later selected to the BSC Sports Hall of Fame. He also went on to letter in basketball and baseball. At Birmingham Southern, he majored in Chemistry and minored in Physics. He was an officer of Kappa Alpha Order, President of Theta Chi Delta and chairman of the student affiliate of the American Chemical Society. He was vice president of the student senate and a member of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK). He was listed in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. He served honorably in WWII as a First Lieutenant – Chemical Warfare Service. After the war, he was assigned to the 441st Counter Intelligence Corps as a special agent in Yokohama, Japan. After a long career as a metallurgist, he retired from United States Steel Corporation in 1982. He was member of the Spectrographics Society and American Society for Metals. After retiring, he and his wife traveled internationally. During his retirement years, he became an active member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Huguenot Society of America, Noxubee County Mississippi Historical Society and Jefferson County Historical Society. Mr. Cooper was a proud member of the Episcopal Church and a founding member of St. Stephens Episcopal Church, Vestavia, AL.
He was predeceased in death by his parents, Edwin Patterson Cooper and Adele Spies Cooper; brother, Edwin Patterson Cooper Jr.; sister, Mattie Lula Cooper Britton; and son, James Young Cooper Jr. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Grace Jones Cooper; his sons, Mims Jones Cooper and Erick Patterson Cooper (Linda); grandchildren, Erick Patterson Cooper Jr., Caroline Elise Cooper, and William Jemison Cooper all of Birmingham; nephews, Edwin Patterson Cooper III (Carolyn), Winterpark, FL and Hugh Flemming Cooper (Nancy), Smyrna, TN.
A graveside service will be held at 12:00 PM, Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at Elmwood Cemetery, followed by a memorial service at 1:30 PM at St. Stephens Episcopal Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to be made to the St. Stephens Episcopal Church Building Fund, 3775 Crosshaven Drive, Vestavia, AL 35223.
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