John "Randy" Cooper

John “Randy” Cooper, 72, of Athens, Ohio, passed away in a motorcycle accident on Wednesday,  June 29^th, 2022. 

Randy was born in 1950 in Redding, California, to William & Rosemary Cooper, who moved to Athens when Randy was a toddler. He graduated from Athens High School in 1968 - the last class to graduate from the “old” AHS building - now Athens Middle School.  Randy earned a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Ohio University and taught engineering at DeVry in Columbus.  He started a Master’s degree, but became so interested in coal mining during an internship that he decided to leave the master’s program and work for AEP Fuel Supply full time.  He spent 28 years at Southern Ohio Coal Company - the Meigs mines.  He was a maintenance engineer for high voltage equipment, manager of the coal preparation plant, and served as superintendent before AEP made the decision to stop mining coal.  Already an expert on mining equipment, and too young to retire, Randy worked for Joy Manufacturing and various other mine equipment businesses until he retired. 

Although he is gone much too soon, and it’s impossible to articulate what he meant to his family and friends in a few paragraphs, his family happily remembers Randy for his charming quirks, including sun tanning with ultra-protective SPF 4, his love for endless lawn mowing, and his affection for machines that went fast - airplanes, his Glastron ski boat, and his Harley Davidson motorcycle.  Summer vacations in Topsail Beach, North Carolina were his favorite, where he wore his loud fish-themed shirts proudly and spent the days on his ski boat with his family.  Several family members and friends still have stiff necks from Randy’s infamous tube rides in the Topsail sound.  He was an avid reader and loved discussing the latest sword books with his daughter and son-in-law.  Randy was a true connoisseur of ridiculously cheesy SYFY movies, and his family will miss the twinkle in his eye when he would extol the merits of so-called masterpieces, including “Piranhaconda” or “Sharknado”.   His family will forever remember and sincerely miss Randy’s charismatic, bright smile and knee-slapping (literally) laughter, usually at one of his own “Dad jokes.” 

Randy is survived by his amazingly resilient mother, Rosemary Cooper Huntsman; his brother Richard (wife Lynn and niece Elise); sister Crysteen; his former wife of 38 years and mother of their three girls, Nancy Cooper; and daughters Miranda Justus (Bryan), Emily Burnette (David) and Natalie Cohen (Zach).  He was preceded in death by his father, William Cooper and his step-father, Bill Huntsman.     

He was a proud grandfather to five wonderful, feisty grandchildren:  Quinn & Nora Burnette, Mia & Jack Justus, and Henry Cohen.  Despite the miles, he so enjoyed the daily Snap Chat videos his daughters shared of the everyday life of his grandchildren.  

Randy loved his daughters unconditionally and was happiest when they would all gather together with the grandchildren in Athens.  Miranda, Emily and Natalie will be forever grateful for all of the hard work, dedication and support from both of their parents, which provided the foundation that allowed them to seek and achieve the lives they have today.

He will be missed deeply by so many.  We invite friends to gather with the family at his favorite place - his home. Join us at 3740 Hebbardsville Rd, Athens, from 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 16^th to remember him in the way he would have wanted with food, drinks, and his favorite Meat Loaf tunes.   Friends and family will be welcome to share their memories at 4 p.m. Further details regarding the memorial can be found on Randy’s Facebook page.  

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made in Randy’s honor to The Friends of the Shelter Dogs of Athens County (www.fosdathens.com), who helped find his longtime furry companion, Frankie, a loving new home.  Arrangements are by Hughes-Moquin Funeral Home where You may send a message of sympathy to the family at www.hughesmoquinfuneralhome.com.