Gordon & Geraldine Cooper 1

EUP Business Scholarship Honors Grandparents’ LSSU Legacy

Lake Superior State University offers a new scholarship, thanks to a grateful grandson wishing to honor his grandparents’ hard work and dedication to family and educational opportunities. Donald Cooper has established the Gordon and Geraldine Cooper Memorial Scholarship to support an Eastern Upper Peninsula high school graduate who is pursuing a business degree at LSSU.

Gordon and Geraldine Cooper were married in 1947 and raised 15 children in Sault Ste. Marie. The daughter of Italian immigrants, Geraldine devoted her life to raising a family until her death from breast cancer in 1981. Gordon, a World War II veteran, supported his family by working at Sunlight Dairy and, later, at Lake Superior State College as a building attendant.

LSSC – LSSU after 1987 – has been a gateway for the entire Cooper family. Through the G.I. Bill and hard work, several Cooper children enrolled and graduated from Lake Superior State with degrees in accounting, nursing, and early childhood education. Many grandchildren have also embarked on a postsecondary education or earned a degree at Lake State. The opportunities that LSSU offered let three generations of Coopers build better lives for themselves and others.

The new scholarship will help Eastern Upper Peninsula students with limited financial means have similar opportunities for success.

To learn about establishing a scholarship or supporting an existing fund, contact the LSSU Foundation at 906-635-2665 or [email protected]. Those who wish to make a gift may also give online.


Would you like to support the Gordon and Geraldine Cooper Memorial Scholarship?


  1. Use the Foundation Giving Form
  2. Select "Other Designation"
  3. Enter your donation amount
  4. Enter the words "Gordon and Geraldine Cooper Memorial Scholarship" in the Gift Designation field
  5. Continue completing form ...