Skip to main content

Robert M. Cooper

Thu, 02/08/2024 - 11:15

Dec. 17, 1943 - Feb. 3, 2024

Robert M. Cooper, affectionately known as Coop, “represented the best of Bonac,” his family wrote. “He was a steadfast leader of his family” and embraced “the roots of the Bonac lifestyle. He loved the water, golf, animals, and his family.”

Mr. Cooper died on Saturday at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. He was 80 and had pulmonary fibrosis.

He worked for the Long Island Lighting Company and tended bar at a number of local establishments before opening his own business, the Cooper Trenching Corporation, which he ran for more than 30 years.

He and his twin brother, Leonard, were born on Dec. 17, 1943, in Salinas, Calif., to Dr. Francis L. and Rita Cooper. His father was serving in the military, stationed in California. Shortly after his birth, his mother traveled across the country by train with him, his twin brother, and their sister, Frances, to return home to East Hampton. Their father joined them when his service was complete.

Mr. Cooper grew up on Cooper Lane in East Hampton Village and attended the public schools here until the last few years of high school, when he and his brother transferred to Cheshire Academy in Connecticut. He joined the Air Force after graduating, and served from 1962 until 1966.

“Everyone knew him as a kind person who never hesitated to help those in need,” his family wrote.

He and his wife of over 50 years, the former Ellen Campbell, reared their two children in East Hampton. She survives, as do their children, Robert F. Cooper of Fort Myers, Fla., and Rebecca Lester of Springs, and their spouses, Mary Jean Cooper and Brian Lester. Mr. Cooper is also survived by a granddaughter, Juliana Lester.

His twin brother, Leonard (Bit) Cooper, and sister, Frances Cooper Hirsch, died before him.

A wake will be held today from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. A graveside service will follow tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Cedar Lawn Cemetery here, with a reception afterward.

Villages

Bluebirds Thriving in East Hampton

“I think this is the most concentrated spot for bluebirds in all of New York State,” said Joe Giunta on a drizzly Saturday morning as he walked along a segment of a bluebird trail on Daniel’s Hole Road, adjacent to 600 acres of relatively open space.

Jul 3, 2025

Cyclists, Welcome to the Thunderdome

Recent roadwork on the shoulder of Route 114 between East Hampton and Sag Harbor has highlighted a truth long known to cyclists on the South Fork: Biking here can be terrifying.

Jul 3, 2025

On Democracy’s Guardrails

A discussion of the prosecutorial process and enforcing legal limits on the Trump administration will introduce a new era for the Hamptons Institute discussion series at Guild Hall in East Hampton on Monday at 7 p.m.

Jul 3, 2025

 

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.