Dennis Cooper

Dennis Cooper Mass of Christian Burial VIDEO: PART 1

Dennis Cooper Mass of Christian Burial VIDEO: PART 2

Dennis Cooper Mass of Christian Burial VIDEO: PART 3

Middleton- Dennis J. Cooper, CPA, age 77 passed away April 7, 2020 after a long illness. His motto was always “Smile, you have nothing to lose.”

Dennis was born May 17, 1942, the son of the late Alderman Leo J. and Emma (Kennedy) Cooper, Jr. On November 25, 1967 he married the love of his life, Janis (Bresock) Cooper at St. James Catholic Church in Madison.

Dennis graduated from Edgewood High School in1960. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater in 1970. Dennis participated in the Army ROTC program and served six years in the U. S. Army Reserves with the 44th General Hospital unit in Madison. He received his honorable discharge as a staff Sergeant in 1967.

Dennis retired from WPS Insurance, after 25 years of service, as the Vice President of Corporate Audit Services. Prior professional employment included five years at American Family Insurance as Internal Audit Manager and eight years as a CPA for Houghton, Taplick & Co, CPAS. In addition to being a CPA, Dennis was a Certified Internal Auditor, and a Certified Fraud Examiner. He was the first President of the Madison Chapter of the International Institute of Internal Auditors and a founding member of the Society of Information Systems Auditors of Wisconsin (SISAW).

In the Fall of 1965 he met Janis Bresock, a St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Technologist, at a Strollers’ Theatre group play reading. One scene led to another and on November 25, 1967 they were united in marriage. This union produced the all-star cast of Matthew, Eric, and Robin. Dennis was an active member of Strollers’ Theatre as a director, actor and bookkeeper.

Dennis believed in giving back to the community. One of his favorite pastimes was coaching the Westmorland “Saints” youth hockey teams. He celebrated many wins (and pizza parties) with them, including at the Badger State Games and WAHA State Tournaments. He was always impressed by how hard the boys and girls worked to improve their skating and hockey skills.

He loved family camping trips to Wisconsin State Parks, summer vacations to beautiful northern Wisconsin and to national parks such as Grand Canyon, Glacier and Yellowstone. He cherished his memories of traveling abroad with family to Sweden, Ireland and Italy. Dennis and Janis celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary in 2007 with an excursion to Alaska.

Dennis loved to be out in nature. One of his favorite places was the UW Arboretum where he volunteered as a steward. He enjoyed hiking, golfing and jogging through the neighborhood with the family dog "Teddy". He participated in numerous community "fun runs" and completed several 20-mile Syttende Mai runs to "celebrate" his May 17th birthday. He was very proud of those Syttende Mai t-shirts.

Dennis loved life and enjoyed good times with his family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances who touched his life. He smiled a lot.

He is survived by his wife, Janis; children, Matthew, Eric (Anna) and Robin (Paul Trolinger); grandchildren, Josephine Cooper, Peyton and Liam Trolinger; sister, Cathy Hlavacek; brothers, Leo (LeeAnn), Mark (Joan) and Joseph (Susan) Cooper; many dear Kennedy and Cooper cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

A private mass of Christian burial will be held at Good Shepherd Catholic Parish at the St. James Church, 1128 St. James Court, Madison. Interment will be held at Resurrection Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Turville Bay Radiation Center and SSM Health at Home Hospice for their care, kindness, and support. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to CureIBM.org, an organization dedicated to Inclusion Body Myositis awareness, education and research.