John Lawrence “Larry” Cooper, aged 90 years, passed away peacefully while in the care of Hospice on July 1, 2024 in Westminster, CO.

Larry was born in West Palm Beach, FL on February 9, 1934 to William “Marcus” Cooper Sr. and Sallye McConnell Cooper. The third of four children, Larry grew up in the West Palm Beach area during his youth. He played football for West Palm Beach High School and graduated from there in 1952. Larry was proud of his alma mater. He enjoyed attending the frequent reunions and keeping up with the lives of his classmates over the years.

Following graduation from High School, Larry began a career in the construction industry. Having been raised learning woodworking skills, the progression into general construction was a natural course for him. He progressed from laborer to running his own crew and leading entire job sites as his career progressed. He was on teams responsible for a number of large projects across the southeast United States and beyond. This included major hotels, office buildings and business parks in places such as the Bahamas, Jacksonville, and Richmond. In the later years of his career he gave up the work on job sites and moved into Chief Building Inspector roles for the cities of Fort Collins, CO, Ormond Beach, FL, and Jacksonville Beach, FL. He officially retired in 1998 from Jacksonville Beach, moving to the Ocala, FL area to concentrate on consulting and focusing on his own woodworking at home.

Larry was married to Shirley Mankin from 1953 to 1964. Their union produced 3 children - John Cooper Jr. (Debra), Jeanice Cooper Braun (Fred), and Lisa Cooper Coffey (Michael). Following the end of this marriage, Larry met and married Sharon Kay Powell in September 1964. Their marriage lasted a happy 54 years until Sharon’s passing in 2018. Larry and Sharon had one child together- Khristina Cooper Dean (Michael). Larry had an incredible passion for his children and worked hard to pass on his life’s lessons to each of them. As Larry’s family grew, 10 grandchildren and, most recently, 11 Great-grandchildren (plus two more due in September) were added to the family. Larry enjoyed spending time with his grandkids engaging in holiday visits, woodworking lessons, and traveling with them.

Larry was pre-deceased by his parents William and Sallye; his three siblings Jane, William Jr., and Sally; and his wife of 54 years Sharon.

Larry will be interred with his wife Sharon in the Columbarium at the Lutheran Church of Hope in Broomfield, CO at a yet to be determined date. No other Memorial service is currently planned. The Family requests that anyone wishing to make a donation in Larry’s memory donate to the Lutheran Church of Hope (lchope.org) or to the Rotary Club of Ocala, FL (ocalarotaryclub.com).