Gearld K. Cooper

Gearld Keith Cooper, 98, of Port Charlotte, FL, passed away in his sleep on January 4, 2024. Coop, as he was known, was a beloved father, a devoted husband, and a brilliant man.

Gearld was born on March 31, 1925 in Monroe County, IA, the third of four children born to Gladys and Faley Cooper. He grew up in a series of small towns in Iowa and southern Illinois, moving as Faley found work in different coal mines. As part of the World War II V-12 program, the US Navy commissioned him as an Ensign and sent him to study Aeronautical Engineering at Purdue, where he completed his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.

While at Purdue, he met the love of his life, Rayna Mary Simons. They were married for more than 70 years and had three sons, Mark, Keith, and Paul. He was devoted to Rayna until her death in 2019.

After Purdue, he worked at Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, CA for a decade; his group designed rocket engines for manned spaceflight (the Atlas and Saturn 5) and for unmanned military use. His later career focused on the design and operation of printing presses, for Harris Intertype (Fort Worth, TX and Westerly, RI) and for WF Hall (Dresden, TN). When Coop and Rayna both retired, they moved to Punta Gorda, FL.

Coop was an avid sailor who instilled a love of the water in his wife and his three sons. He always seemed happiest on a sailboat in the sun. In retirement, he taught courses on navigation and celestial navigation for the United States Power Squadron in Punta Gorda. The Power Squadron let him combine his love of teaching and his love of sailing.

Gearld is survived by his three sons, his sister-in-law Carol, three grandsons, three granddaughters, and three great granddaughters (with a fourth on the way). He was preceded in death by his wife Rayna and his siblings Thomas, Everette, and Carol. His extended family will miss him terribly.