William Richard Cooper

William Richard Cooper died Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at his home in Chula Vista, CA, in the care of his loving family after a long illness. He was 79.

Bill is survived by his beloved wife of 55 years, Judith (Long) Cooper; his son, Timothy (Lance) of Houston; his daughter, Merideth of Chula Vista; sister-in-law, Karen (Janet) Long of Lee, NH; brother, Stephen (Penny) Cooper of Marblehead, MA; many first cousins; and cherished friends in the San Diego area, including Lynn Russell, Karl Fischer, John Malinick, and beloved neighbors with whom he and Judy spent many a Thursday evening.

Bill’s professional career began with his proud service as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy from 1968 through 1979. Deployed on USN warships in almost every corner of the globe, including Vietnam, he served as a gunnery officer, anti-submarine officer, and operations officer. He especially loved to regale us with stories about his time aboard the USS Waddell. His land-based assignments, which included working as an intelligence analyst and human resource management specialist, took him to Washington and major naval installations in Newport, Charleston and San Diego.

Bill left the Navy in 1979 and relocated to Wolfeboro, NH, where he and Judy raised their young children, and he became an instructor of management at Plymouth (NH) State College.

Then, in 1984, Bill returned to defense-related work when he joined the war gaming support team as a contractor and team leader at the Naval War College, Newport. He moved with his family to settle in San Diego in 1989, where he continued to support war-gaming activities at Navy Base Point Loma until his 2014 retirement. Over many years as the leader of his team, Bill received dozens of letters of appreciation and commendation, and was cited in the 1993 Meritorious Unit Commendation for Tactical Training Group, Pacific, for its support of Desert Storm and Desert Shield through war gaming.

One of his happiest post-retirement activities was as a volunteer docent on the USS Midway Museum, educating civilians from around the world about the important role the historic aircraft carrier played during its nearly half-century of active service.

Bill’s love of the Navy and fascination with military history began as a youngster. Born in Lawrence, MA, on October 18, 1946, the son of the late Richard Twining and Rosemary (Coppeta) Cooper, he grew up in neighboring Andover. He was a painstaking assembler of model ships and airplanes, and devoured books and television documentaries—including Janes Fighting Ships and Victory at Sea—learning about Allied and enemy personnel, tactics, ships, aircraft, and materiel of World War II. Like his parents, he was a talented artist and photographer. As a teenager, he worked after school at his father’s camera store.

After attending Andover schools, Bill earned a full academic scholarship from the USN’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) to attend Villanova University, near Philadelphia. Spending his summers on sea duty as a midshipman preparing for a naval career, Bill graduated from Villanova in June 1968 with a B.A. degree in English and philosophy. He was commissioned an ensign immediately upon graduation. He later received a master’s degree in management and human relations from Webster University.

A San Diego-area memorial service is planned.