Thomas Joseph Cooper

Thomas Joseph Cooper, 46, of St. Joseph, went home to be with his Lord & Savior, Wednesday, October 31, 2007 at Lakeland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 10:00 A.M. Saturday at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph with Fr. William J. Jacobs, Jr. officiating. Burial will follow at Spring Run Cemetery in Scottdale. Friends may call from 5:00 until 8:00 P.M. Friday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Tori Cooper College Fund. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the guest book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger. Mr. Cooper was born December 17, 1960 in Chicago to Charles A. & Ruth Suzanne (O’Connell) Cooper, Jr. He graduated in 1979 from Kalamazoo Hackett High School. Tom was employed for seven years at Cooper’s Caravan of Cars in Jackson, Michigan, before moving to Southwest Michigan for the opening of Bob Cooper Chevrolet in Berrien Springs, where he was currently employed as the sales manager. On October 27, 1990, he married the former Tamara Berg in St. Joseph. In his spare time, Tom enjoyed boating on Lake Michigan or spending time with his family & friends. For many years, he served on the Coast Guard Auxiliary in St. Joseph. Thomas is survived by his wife Tamara; his daughter Tori Jill Cooper; his maternal grandmother-Ruth O’Connell of Jackson, MI; his father & step-mother Charles A. & Shirley J. Cooper, Jr. of Holland; his mother-in-law Shirley Berg of St. Joseph; his brothers & sisters-Bob (Carol) Cooper of Berrien Springs, Charlotte (Bud) Bower of Southington, OH, Steven M. (Sheila Baker) Cooper of Kalamazoo, Kristen (Gary) Visscher of Holland, MI, Jeff (Lori) Cavanaugh of Holland; and many nieces & nephews. Tom was preceded in death by his mother Ruth Suzanne Cooper in 1977 and by his sister Karen Baronoski in 1996.