Obituary for Raymond Jay Cooper
COOPER, Raymond J., age 92 of Franklin Lakes, passed on to his long awaited forever heavenly home on January 29, 2022.
Raymond was born on October 1, 1930, to Lambert and Ella Cooper. Ray, aka “Coop” left behind a legacy of faith, service, and adventure. His faith in Jesus Christ and his love for his family, church, friends, fishing, sailing, sports, and missions will live on in all of us. He will be truly missed.
Ray showed us how to enjoy life. To make memories rather than buy stuff. How to be generous and frugal at the same time. To keep it real and be honest. To be a life-long learner and never pretend to know what you don’t know. To be comfortable being ourselves. To love God and His Word. How to love and how to say sorry. To explore and enjoy this beautiful world. To be a friend and welcome new friendships. To work hard and play hard.
Ray being a carpenter, gave him a lifetime of experience at finding solutions to challenging problems. He had a knack for seeing things from a unique perspective and envisioning the finished project with just the right proportions.
In life, these same qualities made dad our “go to person” to get his perspective and advise. Which was always wise and full of common sense. His counsel over the years has saved us from making countless blunders.
We made amazing memories together, and retelling those, would get us laughing so hard, it hurt. But mostly it’s the ordinary stuff that we are going to miss most. Sharing a Saturday night pizza, breakfast on the porch, stopping for coffee and donuts, watching a game on TV, raking leaves in the fall, fishing together, and just hanging out.
Family members on this side of glory: sister, Janet Jellema; five children Raymond, Jr. and Sonia, Jane and David, Dave and Terry, James and Cathy, and George and Carrie. 18 grandchildren Joshua, James, Jonathan, Carson, Daniel, Travis, Anika, Blair, Luke, Brendon, Weston, Jenna, Grace, Grant, Angelina, Monica, Eric, Natalie. Seven great grandchildren; Raymond Jr. Kennedy, Abigail, Joshua, James, Selah Kaitlyn, and Hannah .
Raymond served in the United States Marine Corp from 1950-1952.
A celebration of Ray’s life will be held at Grace Community Church on March 19, 2023, at 2 p.m,where he has been a member for over 50 years. Repast will immediately follow the service.
Grace Community Church
866 Franklin Ave.
In remembrance of Raymond Cooper’s life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to Grace community Church at www.gccfln.org or if writing a check, on the memo line of the check write: “In memory of Raymond Cooper”.
The Cooper family is in the care of the Aloia Funeral Home, 180 Harrison Ave., Garfield (973-340-7077). Condolences visit aloiafuneral.com.
Raymond was born on October 1, 1930, to Lambert and Ella Cooper. Ray, aka “Coop” left behind a legacy of faith, service, and adventure. His faith in Jesus Christ and his love for his family, church, friends, fishing, sailing, sports, and missions will live on in all of us. He will be truly missed.
Ray showed us how to enjoy life. To make memories rather than buy stuff. How to be generous and frugal at the same time. To keep it real and be honest. To be a life-long learner and never pretend to know what you don’t know. To be comfortable being ourselves. To love God and His Word. How to love and how to say sorry. To explore and enjoy this beautiful world. To be a friend and welcome new friendships. To work hard and play hard.
Ray being a carpenter, gave him a lifetime of experience at finding solutions to challenging problems. He had a knack for seeing things from a unique perspective and envisioning the finished project with just the right proportions.
In life, these same qualities made dad our “go to person” to get his perspective and advise. Which was always wise and full of common sense. His counsel over the years has saved us from making countless blunders.
We made amazing memories together, and retelling those, would get us laughing so hard, it hurt. But mostly it’s the ordinary stuff that we are going to miss most. Sharing a Saturday night pizza, breakfast on the porch, stopping for coffee and donuts, watching a game on TV, raking leaves in the fall, fishing together, and just hanging out.
Family members on this side of glory: sister, Janet Jellema; five children Raymond, Jr. and Sonia, Jane and David, Dave and Terry, James and Cathy, and George and Carrie. 18 grandchildren Joshua, James, Jonathan, Carson, Daniel, Travis, Anika, Blair, Luke, Brendon, Weston, Jenna, Grace, Grant, Angelina, Monica, Eric, Natalie. Seven great grandchildren; Raymond Jr. Kennedy, Abigail, Joshua, James, Selah Kaitlyn, and Hannah .
Raymond served in the United States Marine Corp from 1950-1952.
A celebration of Ray’s life will be held at Grace Community Church on March 19, 2023, at 2 p.m,where he has been a member for over 50 years. Repast will immediately follow the service.
Grace Community Church
866 Franklin Ave.
In remembrance of Raymond Cooper’s life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to Grace community Church at www.gccfln.org or if writing a check, on the memo line of the check write: “In memory of Raymond Cooper”.
The Cooper family is in the care of the Aloia Funeral Home, 180 Harrison Ave., Garfield (973-340-7077). Condolences visit aloiafuneral.com.