COOPER, CHESTER C., JR.

Chester C. Cooper, who passed away on May 25, 2013, was born in 1924 in Hollywood, California. His mother passed when he was young and he grew up with his father and sister, Jane. He graduated from Hollywood High in 1943 and immediately joined the United States Marine Corps. He proudly served during World War II in the Pacific Theater with the USMC Raiders. He is a Purple Heart recipient for injuries received during the battle for Okinawa. He was a teacher and guidance counselor with the San Diego School District for more than 30 years, before retiring to play golf, a game he loved, and to spend more time with his family. He will be remembered as a beloved husband to Rosalie, his wife of 58 years who passed in 2011, father to Kevin, Celine and Rosanna, father-in-law to Brian and Ellen, grandfather to Ken and wife Jamie, and to Emily, Brian Jr., Benjamin, and Abigayle, and great-grandfather to Marlie and Tytan. A public funeral mass with military honor guard will be held at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church in Oceanside on June 10, 2013 at 1:30. An informal get together with coffee and cookies will immediately follow in the parish center. Chester will be privately interred with Rosalie at Fort Rosecrans at a later date. He specifically requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the rebuilding fund at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church.