Roger Cooper, Ph.D.

Roger Wayne Cooper, Ph.D., 68, of Lumberton, died Tuesday, October 24, 2017,

Roger Wayne Cooper, son of Delmer Chapin and Adeline (Kralicek) Cooper, was born February 19, 1949 in Yankton, South Dakota. He died Tuesday, October 24, 2017, at Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas – Beaumont, Texas. 

Roger was raised by his parents in Springfield, South Dakota. He graduated from Springfield High School and then received his BA in Geology from the University of South Dakota-Vermillion; MS in Geology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and PhD in Geology-Mineralogy & Petrology from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis. 

He married Betty (Granos) in 1974, and one daughter, Robin, was born to their union. Betty died in 1996.

Roger married Dee Ann O’Keefe Reed in 1998.

In addition to teaching geology for over thirty years at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, Roger consulted and was a significant contributor to the understanding of the geology of the Stillwater Complex in Montana, the Duluth Complex in Minnesota, and to Big Bend National Park in Texas. His contributions to geology will be remembered by many and provide a historical record for many researchers in the years ahead.  He also enjoyed American antique furniture, clocks, and cribbage. 

Thankful for having shared his life are his wife, Dee Ann of Lumberton Texas; his daughter, Robin Cooper of Cheyenne, Wyoming; and a host of friends and peers.

Roger is preceded in death by his parents, brother, and predeceased wife, Betty.

A funeral service will be 10:00 a.m., Friday, October 27, 2017, at St. Michael Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, 680 North 15th Street, Beaumont, followed by his interment at St. Michael Cemetery, Beaumont, under the direction of Broussard’s, 2000 McFaddin Avenue, Beaumont.