John was a legendary figure among geology students at Cal State Fullerton and a giant in the field of Sedimentary Geology.  He touched many lives and will be sorely missed.

Dr. Cooper’s research concerned stratigraphic analysis of Neoproterozoic and lower Paleozoic rocks in the southern Great Basin and Eastern Mojave Desert provinces.  He was an expert in the use of sequence stratigraphy to investigate paleo sea-level, regional stratigraphic correlations, and continental margin evolution, and had supervised the theses of almost 60 students at Cal State Fullerton.  John had served for several decades as a driving force in SEPM, the Society of Sedimentary Geology, serving as Treasurer and Managing Editor for the Pacific Section at the time of his death.  In recent years, Dr. Cooper had led efforts to create a curatorial facility for the Orange County Archeology and Paleontology collection.

John's wife has asked that interested friends, colleagues, and alumni be directed to make a donation in his memory to the John D. Cooper Field Camp Award in lieu of a public memorial service.  Donations can be made online by following this link.