Philip COOPER
Passed away peacefully 18/2/2013
Aged 87 years
Beloved husband of PATRICIA.
Brother of MERVYN. Father of PETER, PENNY and BRUCE.
Relatives and friends are warmly invited to attend PHILIPS funeral on service MONDAY 25-2-2013 at the Christ Church Cathedral Church Street Newcastle, Commencing at 11am.
ROTARY CLUB OF TORONTO
Members are advised of the passing of our former member PHILIP COOPER.
P.Kay (Pres)
A.Pearson (Sec)
ROTARY CLUB OF NEWCASTLE
Members of the above Club are informed of the passing of our esteemed and well respected past President and Honorary Member, PHILIP COOPER PHF.
Ted Lewis (Sec.)
Eulogy for Philip Stanley Cooper
Firstly, thank you all for coming to celebrate the life of my father, Philip Cooper or Pip to most people. Some of you have travelled a considerable distance. We appreciate your support at this time.
Earlier this week, as the family gathered around his bedside, Mum, Penny, Bruce and I had the opportunity to reflect on Dad’s life and the joys that he brought to our lives. Dad had written a story about his own life, the title of which was “The happy life of Philip Stanley Cooper”. A cut down version has been given to you today – What better way to provide a tribute than through his own words Today I will add to this factual account with some other aspects that made him such a wonderful person to be with.
Dad did indeed enjoy a happy life and in recent times he would often say “I’m so lucky”. We, of course, were also lucky to have him as a Dad He was also an engineer and a leader.
For the family leadership was a combination of many things; tight discipline, exposure to the breadth of the things life has to offer, responsibility to self and community and all underpinned by a deep love for and protection of his family.
As children, we recall one of his engineering feats as the creation of what turned out to be a magnificent model electric train setup. It started with Merv bringing back some trains from Germany and over the years, we received additions at Christmas and birthdays with Dad eventually building an elevated platform under the house at Grandview Rd that was so big it had holes in it to gain access to the far reaches. Much time was spent with him building and maintaining this model of engineering excellence although from time to time we were in trouble for Adams family inspired train crashes.
He was fond of convening “family conferences” to solve issues and set standards. This was a good model of inclusive leadership used to extract an admission of guilt, an apology and a promise to never do it again. It sometimes resulted in rules, most famously a list of rules on the fridge - very much an engineer’s system of discipline.
Balancing the attempts at tight discipline was a diverse exposure to the joys of life. We had many family holidays starting with quite frugal ones freezing to death in guesthouses at Katoomba. But in later years, this was replaced by several very memorable trips staying at a rented house called Doo Dee Anna at Mermaid Beach.
For the community his leadership was expressed at work, through Scouts and Rotary. His career was a very traditional one as matched the times, starting as an apprentice at Nesca during the war years rising to his retirement as Chief Engineer of the same, rebadged organisation, the Shortland County Council. I have been told that he was well respected as a leader who paid great attention to what people would experience as being fair. .
His service to the scouting movement was actually initiated by Mum who became Akela at the 1st Kotara cub pack which I joined. Soon after that Dad was prevailed upon to become District Commissioner which enabled him to provide leadership to a number of Scout groups at the same time joining with his good friend Ted Lewis in community service. He was known, as Haati the elephant.
He also provided community service through Rotary, initially in the Newcastle club and more recently at Toronto. Rotary was a very important part of his life and he attended many a Rotary meeting in overseas countries as part of his travels with Mum.
As an individual, he provided us with a role model engaging in a wide range interests, always with Mum. These included the church, the arts, sailing, travel, wine, and being a handy man.
Tradition was very much part of his makeup, starting with his long involvement at this Cathedral that we now stand in. His grandmother and mother had inscribed the Book of Gold with the names of the fallen in the two world wars and he sang in the choir both as a choir boy and later during his retirement. The Anglican church was important to Dad throughout his life and so he also maintained connections wherever he lived, including in the village of his birth, Toronto. His ashes are to be interred in the columbarium here at the cathedral where his parents also rest.
His musical interests were instilled by his father who played the piano and inspired Dad to do the same In later years he played the Cello. He did on the rare occasion realise his dream of having us all play a quartet with Penny on Piano, Bruce and me on Violin and him on the Cello.
Dad drew great enjoyment from classical music and used his electronic and carpentry skills to build amplifiers and speakers. He would say to Penny – why don’t I put on our favourite Symphony (which was Beethoven’s 7th ) and turn the volume right up.
As he approached 50, Dad and Mum began to travel overseas. His story chronicles 17 overseas trips from 1973 to 2005; some of them very extensive. Through these trips he was able to enjoy the company of a range of family and friends, at the same time exploring his interests in music and architecture. He would say that he enjoyed each trip three times – once in the planning, once on the trip and once afterwards through slide nights. He inspired a love of travel throughout the whole family with 3 of his grandchildren, now living overseas.
Then there was his appreciation of wine. He did enjoy a “little somesing” when he deemed it appropriate. One night became legendary he rolled in after a supplier Christmas function saying “good ol Davish an Spensh”. Penny recalls lying awake thinking he was dying as he uttered terrible groans moaning “Patty help me…”. Dad also enjoyed the odd party and you can see evidence of this in the photos at the back of his life story. A nip of single malt whisky could be relied upon to put him in a better frame of mind after a stressful day.
He shared this love of the grape with Merv and Warren, and with a wide range of friends . Penny remembers Mum once telling her that she got him good and drunk at Ted and Anne’s before asking him if Bruce could have a puppy for his birthday.
At Christmas time all of this came together into an annual ritual of attendance at church, followed by a family feast with wine; after which the men would all lie in a line on the floor, listen to Handel’s Messiah and snore in unison.
He also enjoyed the fantasy of James Bond. becoming an avid fan This translated into an influence over two generations. Adrian carries on the Bond tradition with enthusiasm.
Dad being a great handyman came with some risks. Talking this last week with Bruce we both remember him constructing a roof over the deck at Grandview road. Can you imagine Dad and me at each end of a long beam, standing on the railing, with a 2 storey drop below, and a system of ropes and pulleys to progressively raise the beam up wobbly vertical posts, eventually lifting the beam over the top of the posts and into position? Bruce had responsibility to control the ropes and we both have enduring memories of being absolutely terrified.
Dad’s interest in boating started at RMYC Toronto with what he describes as “outings on Lake Macquarie in the Commodores ferry”. During my youth he bought a Heron sailing dinghy and later on a 24’ yacht called Niad which he raced at the Yacht Club. Bruce crewed for Dad on Niad and remembers one race at the end of which dad offered to make him a coffee. As he sipped the coffee Bruce asked Dad whether he had put some rum in it. No – but the bottle of water did look the same as the bottle of methylated spirits!
Dad was also a role model as a partner; his devotion to Mum and the way they complemented each other in skills and strengths made them a formidable team. Bev Lowe commented that on social occasions he was always looking around for Mum, never totally happy without her beside him. His grandson Rowan also commented that Dad’s greatest influence on him was in the way he behaved towards his wife.
As I wrote this Eulogy, it became clear to me just how much of our lives have been shaped by our father in positive ways, sometimes subtle, sometimes not, but always effective.
So I think we farewell a person who has been a quiet but inspirational leader for many people. Whilst we are sad to see him go, the time is right and in his own words he led a happy life.
