John Cooper Autobiographical Statement
December 23, 2020
by Gail Cooper
I was born on May 11, 1928 to William (Bill) and Desi Cooper. My older sister Laura and I lived with our parents in the borough of Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, PA. 1929 brought the Great Depression and money was tight. We lived in back of a grocery store my father ran next to a butcher shop. I remember helping my Dad buy produce at the main market in downtown Pittsburgh and preparing it for the store by washing, shelling or handling. I also delivered items in the neighborhood and once lost a check that a customer gave me. My Dad was pretty upset about that. When I was in elementary school, I played in the community orchestra. Since I showed some promise, my mother arranged for me to take piano lessons. Unfortunately, my mother passed away from throat cancer at the age of 34. I was only 9.
After her death, we made do with Laura becoming the Lady of the house. We ate a lot of homemade soups and went to my Aunt Eva’s house for holidays. Mostly my gifts were clothes because we needed them.
I started running track (1-2 mile races) in High School and began playing violin in the community orchestra. I also sang in a church choir that paid us transport money. I kept careful track of the earnings and expenses in my bankroll diary.
After high school, I got a job as a surveyor before enlisting in the US Navy. The Navy sent me to Basic Training as an electronics technician to repair radios. I was stationed in Illinois, Texas, and Maryland. When World War II ended, I went to college – the Navy paid for it– at Carnegie Technical University in Pittsburgh. My major areas of study were physics and mathematics. Even with that heavy course load, I found time to play violin in the college orchestra where I met my future wife Thea Braider who played the cello. At our final performance, Thea’s mother Renee discovered I was taking a job at the Bureau of Standards in Washington DC. She exclaimed “Oh, Good – you will be near Thea!”. Thea had a accepted a job teaching music at a junior high school in Arlington, VA.
Although we did not actively seek each other out, one Sunday afternoon Thea and I chanced to meet at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. We began dating and the romance grew as we both loved music and art. When I decided to take a leave of absence from work to pursue my Masters and PhD degrees in physics at the University of Kansas, we parted but remained in touch via mail and phone.
After 9 months in Kansas, Thea informed me she wanted to buy a house boat but needed my financial help to do it. So, I returned to Washington to resume work at the Bureau of Standards, sold my car and we bought “The East Wind”, a 40 foot houseboat. We were married soon after in 1954 and enjoyed living on the boat docked at the National Marina off Maine Avenue with our dog Skippy.
After two years we decided to have children announcing it to our friends through a wild “Conception” party on the boat. We bought property in a development called Williamsburg Gardens in Potomac, MD and designed a rancher to meet our needs. We did most of the construction ourselves and moved in when Claire was born. The house was a work in progress as we raised our young family of 3 girls, Claire (1957), Gail (1959) & Lynn (1961).
We both continued to play music, Thea at the Kennedy Center and Fords Theatre (even some gigs in Richmond) and me with local orchestras in the Washington DC area. As our kids were launched, we found more time to take cross country camping trips in our converted truck camper and attend music workshops or Shakespeare festivals.
In 1988, my job at the Bureau was eliminated but I became associated with the Physics Department at the University of Maryland and was offered a position at the National Science Foundation assessing potential grants. We both remained active in the musical community playing in several local orchestras and quartets. We also regularly attended performances at the Folger Theatre and Arena Stage.
Thea developed lung cancer in 2000 and passed away in 2002.She was the love of my life and I still miss her. Since her death, I have remained active as long as possible with the University of Maryland and music as she would have wanted.
I continue to read, exercise and enjoy each day with gratitude.
After her death, we made do with Laura becoming the Lady of the house. We ate a lot of homemade soups and went to my Aunt Eva’s house for holidays. Mostly my gifts were clothes because we needed them.
I started running track (1-2 mile races) in High School and began playing violin in the community orchestra. I also sang in a church choir that paid us transport money. I kept careful track of the earnings and expenses in my bankroll diary.
After high school, I got a job as a surveyor before enlisting in the US Navy. The Navy sent me to Basic Training as an electronics technician to repair radios. I was stationed in Illinois, Texas, and Maryland. When World War II ended, I went to college – the Navy paid for it– at Carnegie Technical University in Pittsburgh. My major areas of study were physics and mathematics. Even with that heavy course load, I found time to play violin in the college orchestra where I met my future wife Thea Braider who played the cello. At our final performance, Thea’s mother Renee discovered I was taking a job at the Bureau of Standards in Washington DC. She exclaimed “Oh, Good – you will be near Thea!”. Thea had a accepted a job teaching music at a junior high school in Arlington, VA.
Although we did not actively seek each other out, one Sunday afternoon Thea and I chanced to meet at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. We began dating and the romance grew as we both loved music and art. When I decided to take a leave of absence from work to pursue my Masters and PhD degrees in physics at the University of Kansas, we parted but remained in touch via mail and phone.
After 9 months in Kansas, Thea informed me she wanted to buy a house boat but needed my financial help to do it. So, I returned to Washington to resume work at the Bureau of Standards, sold my car and we bought “The East Wind”, a 40 foot houseboat. We were married soon after in 1954 and enjoyed living on the boat docked at the National Marina off Maine Avenue with our dog Skippy.
After two years we decided to have children announcing it to our friends through a wild “Conception” party on the boat. We bought property in a development called Williamsburg Gardens in Potomac, MD and designed a rancher to meet our needs. We did most of the construction ourselves and moved in when Claire was born. The house was a work in progress as we raised our young family of 3 girls, Claire (1957), Gail (1959) & Lynn (1961).
We both continued to play music, Thea at the Kennedy Center and Fords Theatre (even some gigs in Richmond) and me with local orchestras in the Washington DC area. As our kids were launched, we found more time to take cross country camping trips in our converted truck camper and attend music workshops or Shakespeare festivals.
In 1988, my job at the Bureau was eliminated but I became associated with the Physics Department at the University of Maryland and was offered a position at the National Science Foundation assessing potential grants. We both remained active in the musical community playing in several local orchestras and quartets. We also regularly attended performances at the Folger Theatre and Arena Stage.
Thea developed lung cancer in 2000 and passed away in 2002.She was the love of my life and I still miss her. Since her death, I have remained active as long as possible with the University of Maryland and music as she would have wanted.
I continue to read, exercise and enjoy each day with gratitude.