Charles Harry Cooper

Charles Harry Cooper, age 83, passed away on Saturday, December 12, 2015. He was born on November 14, 1932 in Poughquag, New York. He entered the U.S. Air Force in 1952 and served in Germany, where he met and married his beloved wife of 59 years, Margaret Adler. After serving his Country, Charles moved to Gulfport, Mississippi with Margaret and worked at Keesler Air Force Base as a technical instructor. As part of a Christian mission on their life, Charles and Margaret became broadcasters and started a commercial radio station, WOSM-FM on 103.1 MHz in Ocean Springs in 1971. Starting in a simple trailer and eventually upgrading to one of the most powerful Christian radio stations in Mississippi, the station aired Southern Gospel programming to the Mississippi and Alabama areas and became trusted friends to the many staff and local pastors. Immediately after Hurricane Katrina, the station and its dedicated staff provided sole valuable informational programming to the affected residents in their time of need. They faithfully attended St. Paul United Methodist Church in Ocean Springs where he taught a Sunday School class for many years. When WOSM-FM was transferred to a new licensee in 2013, Charles and Margaret began another ministry distributing Christian flags. Charles will be remembered as a most caring, loving husband, and will be missed by family and many dear friends. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Cooper; children, Herbert, Edwin, Wilfred and Charles Cooper; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and two brothers, Wayne Cooper and Rodger Cooper. He is preceded in death by his parents, Edwin and Elizabeth Cooper. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations to the St. Paul United Methodist Church Choir Fund, 800 Porter Avenue, Ocean Springs, MS 39564. Funeral services will be held at St. Paul United Methodist Church, Downtown Ocean Springs on Saturday, December 19, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. Friends may visit 1 hour prior. Burial will follow at Crestlawn Memorial Park. The Ocean Springs Chapel of Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.