L. Thomas Cooper

L. Thomas “Tom” Cooper, 82 of St. Joseph, passed away, Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at Hanson Hospice Center, Stevensville. A Celebration of Life Service will be held 6:00 P.M. Friday, August 22, 2014 at St. Joseph First United Methodist Church,  2950 Lakeview Ave., St. Joseph.  Memorial donations may be made to St. Joseph First United Methodist Church or The Alano House of Southwest Michigan.  Those wishing to sign Tom’s Memory Book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Tom was born April 4, 1932 in St. Joseph to Jackson & Melba (Bort) Cooper.  He graduated from St. Joseph High School in 1950 and from Michigan State College Police Academy in 1953.  On February 16, 1951 he married the former Barbara Theesfeld in Benton Harbor.  Tom joined the St. Joseph Police Department in 1953 as a patrolman, was promoted to Sergeant in 1955, Detective Sergeant in 1961, Detective Lieutenant in1966, appointed Assistant Chief in 1977, and Chief of Police in 1983, retiring in 1988.  Tom was active on several area boards & committees, a volunteer at Lakeland Hospital and St. Joseph Today, a life member of both the FBI National Academy and the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Elks Lodge.  He was a regular at several area coffee groups, loved to cook and eat, and enjoyed regular visits to Chicago to try a new restaurant. Tom is survived by his daughter Cheryl (Ronald) Ketelhut of Watervliet; two grandsons-Thomas Ketelhut & Darren (fiancée Kelly Smith) Ketelhut; and his sister Gloria Nelson of Stone Mountain, GA.  He was preceded in death by his parents, an infant brother Russell Cooper, his sister Priscilla Link, his son Brad Cooper on January 20, 1979, and his wife Barbara on July 6, 2003.