Steven Lowell Cooper, beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, teacher, coach and community leader, passed away surrounded by family at his home in Spencer, Saturday, May 24, 2025 at the age of 89.He was born in Spencer, a son of the late Carl W. and Mabel Price Cooper. He was a 1954 graduate of Spencer High School and received degrees in education from Glenville State College and administration from the W.Va. College of Graduate Studies. He taught at Spencer Grade School and Spencer High School, where he was also an administrator, until his early retirement in 1990.
He was an outstanding athlete in high school and college, playing three sports at Glenville State and being a member of the Spencer Rangers semi-pro baseball team. His coaching career included starting the first football team at Spencer Grade School, the first golf team at Spencer High School and the first modern girls’ basketball team, also at SHS. He also had head coaching tenures in baseball, boys’ basketball and golf, in which his team won the first two Little Kanawha Conference championships, and was the only assistant coach for the undefeated 1961 Yellow Jackets football team.
He was a member of the Jaycees, served on Spencer City Council, the board of directors for the Roane County Committee on Aging, was a member of the Roane County Historical Society and long-time president of the Spencer High School Alumni Association, a role in which he was instrumental in collecting school memorabilia and organizing all-class reunions. He was the foremost authority on the girls’ state basketball tournaments that took place in Spencer from 1919-24. An amateur historian, he was named a West Virginia History Hero earlier this year by the state Department of Arts, Culture and History and inducted into the Roane County Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
He was a member of Memorial United Methodist Church in Spencer and attended St. John’s United Methodist Church, also in Spencer. He was a Sunday school teacher at each church.
He enjoyed family, hunting, trout fishing and wood carving – for which his creations were accepted in jurying by the state artisan center Tamarack – as well as regular golf outings with his friends at Roane County Golf Club.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Wanda Carol Cooper, in 2015; his brother, David Cooper; and brother-in-law Richard Taylor.
He is survived by his children, Jim Cooper (Sandy) of Spencer; Anita Wood (Sam) of Melbourne, Fla.; grandchildren Justin Cooper (Desarae) of Walkertown, N.C.; A.J. Cooper (Amanda) of Spencer; Abigail Harden of San Francisco; and Jonathan Harden of Fairmont; great-grandchildren Audrey Cooper, Lincoln Cooper and Josiah Cooper; brother-in-law Kermit Taylor (Barbara) of Severn, Md.; sisters-in-law Carolyn Taylor of Spencer; and Martha Cooper of Barboursville; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Visitation will be Monday, May 26 from 5-8 p.m. at Taylor-Vandale Funeral Home in Spencer. Services will be at the funeral home Tuesday, May 27 at 11 a.m., with Pastor Justin Cooper officiating. Burial will follow a graveside service at Eventide Cemetery in Spencer.
In lieu of flowers, the family request donations to the Roane County Scholarship Foundation for the Spencer High School Alumni Scholarship, 804 Summit Street, Spencer WV 25276.
