Charles Cooper - obituary
Abbeyfield International mourns the loss of Charles Cooper. Tributes have
poured in to the Abbeyfield International office in remembrance of him.
Charles passed away on Tuesday 20th March after a long illness.
He was a great servant of Abbeyfield in British Columbia, involved in
all aspects of the operation. He was also a
tremendous ambassador and advocate for AI.
His Abbeyfield ‘CV’ reads as
follows…..
Director, Abbeyfield House St.
Margaret of Scotland Society, Burnaby, B.C. since 1992.
Chairman, Abbeyfield B.C. Chapter,
2002-2005.
Director and Secretary-Treasurer,
Abbeyfield British Columbia Trust Society.
Director, Abbeyfield Houses Society of
Canada.
Alternate Director, Abbeyfield
International.
In his professional career Charles was
Professor Emeritus of Metallurgical Engineering at Queen’s
University, Kingston, Ontario and ‘Adjunct Professor’ at the
Dept.of Metals and Materials Engineering at the University of British
Columbia, from1989-1999.
He worked tirelessly for Abbeyfield. S
ince 1992 he was involved in the planning
and operation of St. Margaret’s two Abbeyfield Houses which opened in 1996
and in 1999. He planned and ran the annual meetings of the Abbeyfield Chapter
of B.C. He was a Co-applicant of Seniors’ Supportive Living Project,
1996-1998, funded by the B.C. Health Research Foundation, and he will be
known to many Abbeyfielders from his attendance at Conventions in New
Zealand, and Glasgow.
He was married to Frances, herself a
great Abbeyfield supporter; they have a son and daughter, and two
grandchildren. Charles was also a stalwart of his local church - St.
Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church where he was a former vestry clerk and
Rector’s warden. He loved photography, reading and gardening. His
friendliness, expertise and calm manner will be much missed.
Colleague Michael White (Chairman, Abbeyfield Scotland) has made the
following tribute.................
Everyone who met Charles and Frances at the International Conference in
Glasgow was impressed by their commitment to Abbeyfield.
They were a lovely couple, and showed great courage, modesty, humility and a
great spirit.
Charles was a real gentle man and a gentleman.
I feel priviledged to have met him and to have spent time with him.
I knew Charles was very proud of his Scots ancestry. We too are proud of
Charles.He had a quality we call "smeddum" in Scotland. He was a strong and
yet gentle giant of a man.He exuded care, compassion and human warmth. On
behalf of every Abbeyfielder in Scotland, I would like to extend condolences
to Frances and the Cooper family. Abbeyfield has lost a great man. Chairman
Allan Snowie, speaking at Charles' memorial service added "We have lost a
Clydesdale of a man; one who plowed a straight furrow for Abbeyfield."
Eulogy by the Revd Norman Song........
Charles was a close friend, a fellow parishioner and a dedicated fellow
Abbeyfielder. We started working together on the St. Margaret Abbeyfield
House project in the early 90's. At that time, we were faced with seemingly
insurmountable obstacles.
It took us three years to convince our Diocesan Council to make the land
available to us for the building. And it was only after Archbishop Hambidge
intervened. But we realized this was only the beginning - the real hard
work lay ahead. We had to have the land rezoned, engage architects,
arrange financing, get the plans passed by the City of Burnaby, select the
general contractor and then negotiate the building contract ... and on and
on…
We spent many days and nights planning, visiting other seniors’ facilities,
meeting with the architects, municipal officials, making presentation after
presentation until we finally got all the pieces together and received final
OK from the parishioners to proceed. Our first Abbeyfield House was built
and became operational in October 1996. A second House was added and opened
in May 1999.
All this would not have been possible if it was not for Charles’
determination, his patience, and above all, his dedication to Abbeyfield. I
remember times when he slept over at Abbeyfield because there was no
coordinator on duty. One Christmas, due to an error in planning, there was
no coordinator on duty to cook lunch for the residents. Charles left the
family’s Christmas celebration to cook for the residents. Frances was
understandably a little upset. He was systematic and competent in everything
he did and nothing was below him, including doing chores and helping to
maintain the gardens around the Abbeyfield Houses. I made it a practice to
have him review every important letter or document being sent out on
Abbeyfield letterhead. I learned to be careful not to use a preposition to
end a sentence with! Once Charles had been through it, I could rest assured
that every I was dotted, every t crossed, the spelling was correct, and the
grammar and syntax was beyond reproach.
Charles’ enthusiasm and dedication continued through the years. Next month,
we will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the opening of our
first House. We all regret he will not be present, in body at least, to
participate in this celebration. Through all these years, I have never
known him to seek or expect credit for his work. Whatever he did, he did
because he believed in the cause.
Over a period of over 15 years, he and I got to know each other rather well.
In addition to Abbeyfield, we shared common interests in many areas,
including music, photography and other subjects, such as astronomy. When
there was something interesting or unusual happening in the sky, he came
over and we would spend hours at the telescope. Once, he surprised and
rather shocked me by introducing me as "the one who opened my eyes to the
heavens".
Charles also had a sense of humor. I once introduced him to a visitor as
Dr. Charles Cooper. He took me aside afterwards and told me not to do it
again. I told him he had his Ph.D. and was therefore entitled to being
called Doctor. “Yes”, he said. “but Ph.D. also stands for
piled high and deep!”
He was a staunch and sincere practicing Christian. As a scientist, he
realized that science does not have all the answers to so many of today’s
perplexing problems. On the other hand, he wondered why so many people would
not take advantage of all the wonderful gifts God has to offer them. He
lived his faith. He believed that whatever he needed, God had given him.
It is therefore not surprising that one of his favourite hymns was "Great is
Thy faithfulness":
All I have needed Thy hand has provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
Charles left a rich, visible and enduring legacy. His kindness,
consideration, his generosity and dedication will be remembered by all those
who had the good fortune to know him. His name spread beyond the boundaries
of this church, this country, and far beyond the borders of Canada . I
will miss him very much.
Rest eternal grant unto him O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
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