Joseph Cooper

Joseph Cooper passed away on Tuesday, December 7th, surrounded by his loving family. Joe was born in Madison, Wisconsin on June 12th, 1951, to Leo and Emma (Kennedy) Cooper. He was a lifelong Madisonian and was very proud of his time at St. James School, Edgewood High School, and the University of Wisconsin. After a career of over 30 years, Joe retired from University of Wisconsin Housing as an Assistant Director in 2012. While Joe had many beloved colleagues at Housing, his impact was surely greatest in his position as “coach”. Joe coached far too many teams to list them all in one place, but he was most proud of his career as the Girls’ Varsity Volleyball Coach for Madison West High School, from 2001-2017. Joe was recognized by the Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association for having over 300 career wins with West.

Joe married the love of his life, Susan (Jiru) Cooper, on December 7th, 1974. Joe is survived by Susan and their children Travis (Emily), Courtney and Carly Cooper; his siblings Leo Cooper, Cathy Hlavacek and Mark (Joan) Cooper; his father-in-law, William Fotes; his sisters-in-law, Jan Cooper, Judy Armstrong and Maggie Jiru; his brother-in-law, David Jiru; his grandchildren, Grace, Madeline, Stella and Sophia Herndon, and Irene and Owen Cooper; his Grand-dog, Bogart; and many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Joe was preceded in death by his parents, Leo and Emma Cooper; his mother-in-law, Mary Jiru; his brother, Dennis Cooper; his sister-in-law, LeeAnn Cooper; his brother-in-law, Michael Jiru; and his daughter, Jennifer Cooper-Herndon.

Joe impacted and touched countless lives and will be greatly missed for his humor, leadership and storytelling. He was the finest friend anyone could ask for and lived to serve his community and to make others laugh. Joe was an incredible gardener and loved his many summers at the Eagle Heights Community Gardens; he loved delivering vegetables to his friends and family even more! Joe had a fierce dedication to youth sports and in addition to coaching was a member of the Blessed Sacrament Athletic Association, the board of West Madison Little League, MWABA and many other community groups and organizations. As a longtime member of Blessed Sacrament Parish, Joe served as an usher and ran “Joe’s Bar” at countless Spaghetti Dinners.

A mass celebrating his life will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 14th at Blessed Sacrament Church, 2115 Rowley Avenue, Madison, with visitation at 10:00 am prior to service. Joe will always be remembered as a loving and devoted husband, father and grandfather; and as a kind, generous and loyal friend. We will love you and hold you in our hearts forever, Joe!