James Henry “Harry” Cooper Passes Away
James Henry “Harry” Cooper passed away on April 22 at the age of 91.
After graduation from high school, he received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He graduated from the academy in 1951 and served on the U.S.S. Waldron until being accepted for flight training at the naval air station in Pensacola, Florida. He completed flight training and served as a naval aviator from 1953 until his discharge from the Navy in 1956.
After leaving the military, he returned to Springfield and joined his father and his brother in the family’s business interests, including Harry Cooper Supply Co., Independent Broadcasting Co. (KOLR 10) and the Springfield Flying Service, as well as several other privately-held businesses. The family sold its interest in KOLR in 1998 and gradually turned the day-to-day operations of its businesses over to Cooper’s nephew, John T. Cooper. At the time of his death, Cooper still served as chairman of the board of the family businesses and as a member of the Boys and Girls Clubs Trust Fund and Advisory Board.
Cooper was active in a variety of other charitable and civic organizations, as well as industry associations relating to the family’s business interests. Early in his career, he also served on the board of directors for Cox Hospital and Union National Bank (currently known as Bank of America). He was also a member of Hickory Hills Country Club where his father was a founding member.
Donald Bausch of Kovalsky-Carr Passes Away
Donald L. Bausch, 75, passed away on July 5 while on vacation in the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
Born on Aug. 21, 1942 in Batavia, New York he graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1960, attended St. Bernard College in Cullman, Alabama for two years and graduated from St. John Fisher College in 1965 with a degree in business management. He began working for Westinghouse Electric Supply after graduation and held various management roles in Rochester, Utica, Virginia and New York. He spent the last 20 years of his career working for Kovalsky-Carr Electric Supply in Rochester, New York. His business associates remember him as a hardworking and fair person who was always a pleasure to deal with.
Throughout the years, he served on many electrical boards and committees. An avid golfer, he was a member of Stafford Country Club since 1975 and served as president. He was a past president of the Notre Dame High School board and a member of the United Memorial Medical Center Foundation Board for nine years. An avid fundraiser for both St. John Fisher College and Wilmot Cancer Center, he also gave back to his community through other various organizations.