Ralph James (Jim) Cooper

Jim Cooper, 79, of Bluffton, South Carolina – long a resident of Phillipsburg, New Jersey – passed away on 21 October after battling the effects of a stroke. Born in Maine, he grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Phillipsburg High School in 1960 and Trenton State College in 1964. He went on to become a P-3 Pilot in the Navy, flying throughout the Pacific and in combat in Vietnam. He then fulfilled his dream of becoming an airline pilot and spent the next 30+ years flying airliners across the United States and around the world – captaining international flights for many of those years. He could best be described as “his own man.” He did things his way, regardless of what others thought. He loved flying and talking about aviation, as aviators do. He also loved traveling the United States via RV, road trips, visiting family, and showing his kids the world. He knew the best local eatery in every town from coast to coast. He could boast of having lifelong friendships with people he grew up with, as well as close friends from all around the world with vastly different backgrounds. He lived in many places, but grew up and went back to live in New Jersey for most of his life before living in Singapore for several years, and then finally retiring to South Carolina. He is predeceased by his parents; his step-father, Wesley Hoyt; and his half-brother William Hoyt. He is survived by his brother, Jack Cooper of Casper, Wyoming; his three children, Jacqueline Cooper of Easton, Pennsylvania; Carolyn Giampe and her husband Robert of Monroe, Connecticut and James Cooper and his wife Christine of Raleigh, North Carolina; as well as the mother of his children, Virginia Cooper of Easton, Pennsylvania. He had four grandchildren, Lelia, Samuel, Jameson, and Alexandra. Due to the pandemic, the family will hold a memorial ser vice at a later date.

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