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Rev. Dr. Oscar William (Bill) Cooper, Jr.
The Reverend Dr. Oscar William (Bill) Cooper, Jr passed away on November 11, 2019 at his home in Fort Collins, CO. He was born to Oscar and Leatha Cooper on May 24, 1939 in Ecorse, Michigan. In June of 1953 he married Ruth Zimmermann in Schooley’s Mountain, New Jersey.
He is survived by his wife (Ruth) of 66 years; by his brother, Dr. Terrence Cooper (wife Dr. Martha) and his sister, Corliss Mick (husband Rodney). He is survived by his two children, Dr. Ruth Mannschreck (husband The Reverend Dr. Jack) of Waterford, MI and Kiel Cooper (wife Tauna) of Marietta, Georgia. He is survived by 6 grandchildren (Joshua David, Caleb William, Reverend Jeremiah John (wife Sara), Benjamin Joseph, Sarah Marie, and Jonathan Paul) and 2 great grandchildren (William Joseph and Amos Daniel). He was preceded in death by his parents Oscar and Leatha and his granddaughter Chava Norah Cooper.
Bill was an insatiable student. He received a Bachelor of Theology from Nyack College, a Bachelor of Art from Wayne State University, a Master’s in Divinity from Biblical Seminary in New York City and his Doctor of Ministries from Asbury Theological Seminary.
Bill served as a Lieutenant in the Salvation Army, in ministry for one year. He was a pastor in the Detroit Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in Michigan for 29 years. During that time, he served the following churches: Ypsilanti First UMC, Manchester/Sharon UMC, Elkton UMC, Port Huron First UMC, Warren First UMC, and Ames UMC in Saginaw, Michigan. During his retirement, he served Eagle Valley Evangelical Free Church in Colorado for three years.
After his retirement from the United Methodist Church, his ministry took an international turn. He served seminaries in 6 different countries: Ukraine, Moscow, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Haiti. He taught classes and guided them through the process of transferring seminary leadership from American citizens to the nationals, hiring academicians, designing curriculum, equipping students for a life of Biblically based ministry in challenging situations. In Haiti he started and built the Emmaus Biblical Seminary.
Over the course of his career, Bill wrote 20 books, most centered around Inductive Bible Study. These books made the blessings and guidance of the Scriptures available to everyone. In 1989 he founded the non-profit, Logos Ministries, to ensure that these books made it into the hands of new believers in third-world countries.
A memorial service will be held on November 22nd at 11:00 AM at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Condolences can be sent to Ruth P. Cooper, 909 Centre Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80526 and/or Ruth D. Mannschreck, 3720 Shaddick Road, Waterford, MI 48328.
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