Roll Call Tribute

James A. Cooper 

November 16, 1932 - December 7, 2023 

James A. Cooper, a lifelong resident of San Antonio, passed away on December 7th in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Jamey," as he was known, was born in 1932 to George A. and Elizabeth (Betty) Cooper. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School, Class of 1950, and graduated from Schreiner Institute in Kerrville, Texas. After high school, he served two years during the Korean War in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Siboney aircraft carrier. He received his B.S. degree in Landscape Architecture from Texas A&M University in 1958 and later moved to Los Angeles, where he earned his M.S. degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Southern California.

During his planning career, he became the Planning Director for the City of San Dimas, California, and then returned to San Antonio to become the Planning Director of the San Antonio Development Agency (SADA). In 1973, he went back to his first love, landscape architecture, establishing a private practice that he operated for thirty-five years, continuing under the name Cooper Lochte Landscape Architecture. As a landscape architect, his commissions included numerous residential, commercial, institutional, and educational projects throughout San Antonio and South Texas. He was a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects from 1966 until his retirement in 2007.

Jamey was a dedicated husband, father, Texan, and Texas Aggie. He was an active member of Christ Episcopal Church for fifty years. He savored a good meal, a good laugh, and a pretty sunset-he truly appreciated living. He and his much-loved wife Bess enjoyed having fun together, sharing life's simple pleasures and watching their children grow. He had a passion for many hobbies, including sailing, scuba diving, hunting, photography, and travel. He was a wonderful storyteller who could captivate an audience for hours with his tales of adventures in the South Pacific when he worked as a documentary film crew member in 1960 aboard a ragged yacht that cruised the islands filming the spearfishermen of the Marquesas. He loved working with his hands, from remodeling his homes to small leather projects, all embraced with passion, resourcefulness, creativity, and skill.

Jamey is preceded in death by his parents, his sister Eleanor (Nonie) Caldwell, and his brother Robert L. Cooper. He is survived by his wife of sixty years, Bess Cooper; daughter, Elizabeth Ann Cooper, and her husband David Leavitt; his son, Christopher James Cooper, and his wife Carina Cooper; as well as his step-grandchildren Claire Leavitt, Luke Leavitt, and Nils Lawton, along with numerous nieces and nephews. He was a generous father and husband and will be missed by many.

Memorial Service & Interment at Christ Episcopal Church, San Antonio, Texas, in February 2024. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Meals on Wheels America.