Robert "Bob" Norman Cooper

After a long and diverse life, Robert Norman “Bob” Cooper died on April 9, 2023, at home in Comfort, Texas. Bob was born to John Edward Cooper and Mildred Ann Rabolais Cooper, March 2, 1937, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, brother, sister, and daughter.

He was married to Betty Dowd in August 1958. In June of 1959, a son, Robert Norman “Butch” Cooper Jr. was born and in September 1960 a daughter Vicki Ann. At the time of his death, he had three grandsons, Jared, Jason, and Trey, three great granddaughters and one great grandson.

Bob attended Nichols High School in New Orleans, being graduated in 1954. He continued his education at Tulane and transferred to Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now University of Louisiana Lafayette) to complete a BS in Chemical Engineering (1958). He then went to work at Wright Patterson Air Force Base Space Program in Dayton, Ohio as a project engineer. Feeling he needed more education, he returned to SLI and completed a Masters in Mathematics (1962). He never returned to space program: he had fallen in love with teaching and taught mathematics at ULL until 1988. He retired as a full professor. During this time, he received his PhD from Texas A&M University, College Station in 1972.

After divorcing in 1985, he sailed with a friend, and decided he would return to teaching to buy his own sailboat. He taught at Texas A&M, Galveston from 1988 to 1993. Instead of getting a sailboat, he found a wife instead! He and Sallie C. Ilseng married in 1989. He also acquired two stepsons, Michael and Douglas.

After recovering from a  diagnosis and treatment for bladder cancer at M.D. Anderson Hospital in 1993, Bob revisited what he felt was a calling to ministry. Having been raised Roman Catholic, he felt that he could not support all of the tenets of the church at the time. Prayerfully he had set that aside and had pursued education. Later in his life, he had joined the Episcopal Church and had become very active in the opportunities it presented. He joined a discernment group at Epiphany Episcopal Church in New Iberia, LA. This left him on the path of attending the University of the South School of Theology, Sewanee, Tennessee and becoming and Episcopal priest. Returning to the Diocese and Western Louisiana, where he was ordained in 1999. He served several churches in Louisiana including Good Shepard, Vidalia, Grace, Waterproof and Christ Church, St. Joseph. During this time, he spoke to the Bishop about doing missionary work in Alaska. He had his wife, Sallie made summer trips to homer, Alaska from 001 to 2012 to serve a mission, St. Augustines’ to hold services, to build a church building and to be recognized as a parish. They returned to the churches in Louisiana every Fall. He retired from the ministry in 2012 due to failing health.

Bob enjoyed sailing, fishing, RV camping, visiting National Parks and reading. He was in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve from 1954 until 1962. While teaching he was active in the Boy Scouts of America. Bob was active in a 12-step program for 39 years, attending meetings, sponsoring other men and sharing his experience, and hope.

To each of his career, rocket scientist, university professor, Episcopal priest and the changes that occurred throughout his life, he brought the values he had learned from his paternal grandfather. He instilled in Bob to “question everything, then seek the answer,” the value of education, and the characteristics of honesty, determination, and faith. Bob had a rare combination of intelligence and common sense. He had a wonderful sense of humor and could tell Cajun jokes in with the best! He left this world a better place than he found it.

Matthew 25:21 “Well done good and faithful servant”

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