We regret to advise of the death of Sapper James Fennimore “Fen” Cooper (Ret'd) in Weyburn General Hospital, Weyburn SK on 18 June 2004 at the age of 94 years.
Fen was born Neepawa MB and raised in Moose Jaw SK and later in Weyburn. He was orphaned as a boy and raised with his brother by family friends. In Weyburn, he was taught how to box by T. C. “Tommy Douglas”, the future CCF Saskatchewan premier and national NDP leader, whose ideas would continue to influence Fen throughout his life. During the Great Depression, Fen worked in the Cypress Hills Relief Camp and ‘rode the rails’ as far east as the Maritimes to find work. He was finally able to establish himself as a house painter until the outbreak of the Second World War.
Fen was over thirty with three children when he told his wife he wanted to join the Royal Canadian Engineers who he described as ‘unarmed men who build bridges’. He was assigned to the 8th Field Squadron and served in Northwest Europe.
Fen returned to Canada on a hospital ship with shrapnel wounds in his knee that would affect him for the rest of his life. Shortly after getting home to Weyburn he opened the Cooper & Co Paint Shop that he ran until he retired in 1975. Fen was a Life Member of the Royal Canadian Legion Weyburn Branch # 47, having once served as President.
A memorial service will be held on 22 June at 2:00 p.m. at the Fletcher Funeral Chapel, Weyburn, with a Royal Canadian Legion Honour Guard and honorary pallbearers. Interment will follow in Hillcrest Cemetery. {dcJan2018gd} [zpp, zsd]
