Gerry was born in Coventry England to Victor and Elsie Cooper, he had one brother Emanuel. He grew up surrounded by a large extended family there. His cousin Mirabelle tells of him visiting their smallholding and how Gerry was more interested in the animals and looking for eggs to take home. They had turkeys, he had never seen one before, he was fascinated by them and how he loved it when the gander chased him; He always did have an odd sense of humour. He grow up in the family bungalow that had been built by his grandparents called Elizabeth house on Wall Hill Rd. As a youngster he had tin soldier moulds and would melt down the tin to make them. Later as a young adult he had a motorcycle that he worked on in the garage and owned for a short while – I believe he only drove it once and that was that.
He immigrated to Canada in 1957 to British Columbia where his Uncle Jim (James) Cooper lived with his family. Gerry worked on the construction of several facilities in and around Prince George. This is where he met his future wife, Marie. They first meet at a bar where he came up to their table (he was known to one of the group) and proceeded to toss several handfuls of screws on the table like confetti (a unique sense of humour he had). They were married in Coquitlam in 1963.
Gerry was always known for his ready laugh and sense of humour. When working in Prince Rupert during the centennial he told his daughters that the queen was coming to have tea in his work shake – this has remained a long stand joke with his girls. When his daughter, Alison, and family moved to Fort St. James he told them stories about going to the grand opening of the Fort St. James hotel, back in the 60’s and of fishing on Stuart Lake. He was always willing to lend a hand when family and friends need help, he went to Kamloops many times to help Wendy with the construction of her house. He loved his granddaughters and was very proud of their accomplishments and loved to help them out.
Alison Leach
20/06/2019
