AUGUSTA – Alan Dale Cooper, beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother died on Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, at the age of 87 years surrounded by his family.Alan was born on Jan. 21, 1935, to Delbert and Violet Cooper in Grassy Creek, N.C., and grew up in Galax, Virginia. An avid athlete, he received his BA in Mathematics from Berea College, Kentucky, from which he was recruited by Westinghouse Electric Corporation at a pre-graduation college Job Fair. Dedicated to problem solving and successful management, Alan directed the company’s Quality Assurance division for 37 years, and in 1987 wrote and published the field guide, “The Journey Toward Managing Quality Improvement.”Alan’s work took him on trips around the world; most notably Japan, Australia, Spain and Puerto Rico, and relocated him up and down the US east coast. His first position was in Athens, GA where he met Sharon Lee Blair, a beautiful 18-year-old secretary whose father also worked at Westinghouse. Within four months the two were married on December 16, 1961. The happy couple had three children before moving the family to Pittsburgh, PA for two years, then Philadelphia, PA for eight years, then Orlando, FL, where each child graduated from college to start their own journeys.One final Westinghouse move took Alan & Shari back to their favorite location in Pittsburgh, where Alan found it easier to follow his cherished Pirates and Steeler. It was here that Alan retired from Westinghouse but continued to work as a sub-contractor in the field of Quality Management. He loved working with the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents to help develop and employ their Five Star Agency Designation – meeting insurance agency employees, understanding their management systems, and working with each individual and group to enhance the quality of their work. Alan saw this as an opportunity to not only improve work functions, but to create better work environments and life experiences for each of the people he met, and he did!In 2009, Alan & Shari built a one-story home in Belgrade, Maine across the street from their daughter and her family, and Alan didn’t fully retire from work until 2018. He spent his days landscaping his picturesque lawn and gardens, giving sage business advice to his daughter and son-in-law, watching North Carolina Tar Heel games with his son on the phone, engaging Molly, the couple’s 12-year-old Shih-tzu, in sock chases around the house, and loving his wife of 60 years. He was known by all who met him to be a “good man,” who never found the need to smoke, drink or swear, always expressed kindness, care, and a willingness to listen, and had a penchant for light-hearted teasing.Alan will be missed every day by his wife Sharon Blair Cooper, his sister Loretta Higgins, his two surviving children and four grandchildren: daughter Crista Cooper Lavenson, husband Joel, and granddaughters Hanna Blair and Emma Lena Lavenson; son David Michael Cooper and grandson Nathan Alan Cooper; deceased son (2015) Gregory Mark Cooper’s son Levon Cooper; and sister-in-law to whom he became a second father, Faith Ann Blair.Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Knowlton and Hewins Funeral Home website http://www.familyfirstfuneralhomes.com There are no services scheduled at this time. Arrangements are under the care of Knowlton & Hewins Funeral Home and Cremation Care 1 Church St. Augusta, 623-8722.In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Belgrade/Rome Food Pantry 508 Smithfield Rd. (Route 8) Belgrade, ME 04917.

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