John and Florence Cooper Endowed Scholarship in Medicine
EST. 2004
Please address your letter to:
The Family and Friends of Commander John Cooper and Florence Cooper
In 1929, John W. Cooper enlisted in the Navy. It was his attempt, says an old friend, to leave behind a very difficult background. After surviving the beaching of the Nevada during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Cooper went on to the Supply Corps, developing new methods to help get food and equipment to far-flung troops. After the war, Commander Cooper married, graduated from the University of Washington, and worked in accounting at NASA, eventually heading five departments and overseeing a staff of 800.
Before he died in 2004, Commander Cooper stipulated that his estate make a substantial gift to student scholarships at UW Medicine. He had always had an interest in young people — especially ones who, like himself, had started out with little in life. And, after serving in World War II, he had a high regard for the compassion and generosity of the medical profession. In a letter he wrote to his estate representative, Cooper said he thought that the scholarship he established with his wife would benefit a great number of people. In turn, the School of Medicine, its students, and the communities they will serve all benefit from the Coopers’ legacy.