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Letter to the editor

Dunedin news icon dies

He was known for his dedication to keeping the public informed about the city's work.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY, Times Staff Writer
Published December 18, 2007

DUNEDIN - News may be a little slow in Dunedin today.

Francis Loren "Gus" Cooper, town know-it-all, mentorto city leaders and civic activist, died of cancer Saturday(Dec. 15, 2007). He was 88.

When Mr. Cooper wasn't making news through his involvement in numerous city committees and civic organizations, he was tipping off reporters to the latest goings on in town.

The production studio for the city's government access cable TV channel is named in his honor. He was creator and host of Spotlight on Dunedin, a series still running on the city's channel 15, which recently switched to channel 615.

Mr. Cooper helped the city learn to present itself to the public in a more professional manner, said Assistant City Manager Harry Gross.

"He always would critique how I came across on television," Gross said. In 2004, before interviewing Gross about the city's purchase of the St. Andrews Links golf course, Mr. Cooper urged Gross not to say "um" and "you know," as he had in his last television appearance.

Vice Mayor Deborah Kynes also praised Mr. Cooper for spearheading city efforts to communicate with residents.

"The way I will always remember him is how important he thought it was to establish the channel 15 as a real means of communication to our citizens" Kynes said. "That goes back to the idea of the framers of the Constitution that the best citizens are the informed citizens."

Until his last week, Mr. Cooper, who preferred to be called Gus, was fielding calls from friends at his apartment at Mease Manor Retirement Living. On Nov. 30, he celebrated his birthday with visitors, balloons and cake.

Born in Dodge Center, Minn., Mr. Cooper served in World War II and the Korean War, retiring from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve as a lieutenant colonel.

A journalist in his early working years, Mr. Cooper was a reporter for the Rochester Post-Bulletin and the Mankato Free Press, both in Minnesota, and for the Associated Press.

He then became an executive with the New York Life Insurance Co., where he rose to vice president for public relations and advertising.

After retiring, he and his wife, Shirley Garniss Cooper, moved to Dunedin in 1979. Mrs. Cooper died in 2004. The couple had been married 59 years.

A golfer, Mr. Cooper was well known at Dunedin Country Club, where he served as a director and as president.

His daughter, Lynne Cooper Lichtermann of Lakeland, Tenn., said she and her brother, Donald R. Cooper of Chandler, Ariz., will remember their father for his involvement in their activities.

Whether going through English compositions or leaving work in time to coach Little League practice, he was there for his kids.

"He's just so passionate about country and family," Lichtermann said. "He taught us the moral values by example."

In his final days, he told friend Mary Kay Klinge: "Old Marines never die. They just fade away."

Mr. Cooper is survived by his son and daughter, his five granddaughters and his 13 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled at 2p.m. Jan. 11, 2008 at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Dunedin. It will be followed by a reception at Mease Manor. Donations may be made to The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast or the Dunedin Historical Society.

[Last modified December 17, 2007, 21:09:35]