Erwin Eugene Cooper

Erwin Eugene Cooper, who was a Senior Engineer at Texas Instruments for more than 40 years,
and a long-time resident of north Texas, died peacefully at home in Grapevine on Saturday, at
age 88, with family at his side.
Erwin was born in Midland, Texas, on November 22, 1933, to Laura Josephine and Samuel
Oscar Cooper.
As a kid growing up in west Texas, he enjoyed riding bikes, building models, hunting with his
Red Ryder BB gun, and working on cars. By the age of 13 he was driving with a hardship
license, and that same year, he rebuilt the engine on his mother’s car. He also developed an
interest in cameras and photography, and would later become an editor of his high school
yearbook.
His mechanical aptitude and gift for building things, along with his interest in cameras, would
come together later to shape his professional career.
After high school he went on to what is now known as Texas Tech University where he
graduated in 1956 with a degree in mechanical engineering, becoming the first in many
generations of his family to graduate from college (beating his older brother, who had served in
the Air Force, by one semester).
In December of 1955 he married the love of his life, Margery Anne Waters, in Fort Worth,
Texas, at First Methodist Church. They were married for almost 67 years, and have three sons,
Wade, Neal and Mark, as well as eight grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren.
After graduating from Tech, he went to work for Gulf Oil and he and Margie moved to
Monahans, Texas, where he worked in the oil fields. They had many great stories about their
time in Monahans – including the frequently told story of water-skiing so much with their friends
on a nearby lake that the boat engine eventually “crystallized” and fell apart.
Erwin’s time with Gulf Oil was interrupted when he was drafted into the Army in the summer of
1956. After basic training he was transferred to the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama
where his engineering skills were put to use in the fledgling U.S. missile development program.
In September 1957, the Army sent him to Korea, on a small ocean liner. Another of his favorite
stories was about this trip across the Pacific, getting stuck in a monsoon for several days and all
the soldiers on-board being seasick. In Korea he did civil engineering work and spent time
flying around the countryside in helicopters and building runways.
Erwin was honorably discharged from the Army in September in 1958. His brother O.J. talked
him into joining him at a new technology company in Dallas -- Texas Instruments. He spent the
next 40 years as an engineer at Texas Instruments until their Equipment Group was sold to
Raytheon and he spent the final two years of his career at their facility in McKinney, Texas.

While at TI, one of Erwin’s very first projects was building a radio for use in the Mercury space
capsules. He remembered the concern they had in the first space flights while waiting for
communications with the astronauts to resume after the interruption during re-entry.
His gift for building things and his long-time interest in photography and lenses led him to
become one of a small group of engineers and physicists at TI responsible for developing new
infrared capabilities and revolutionary night-vision cameras for military aircraft, tanks and
soldiers. He was the inventor, or in some cases, a co-inventor (in one instance with son Neal) on
several key patents related to this new technology, which even today gives our armed forces
important advantages over our adversaries and protects our national borders. After he had
retired, he was called back to Raytheon to help put their night-vision technology into the new
Predator drones which became very important in the war against terrorism.
In addition to his professional work, Erwin enjoyed building his lake house at Lake Kiowa; and
later when he retired to his “gentleman’s ranch” in Valley View, he spent his days building barns
and corrals; taking care of horses, donkeys, goats, peacocks, chickens and quail; documenting
the wildlife on their place; putting grandchildren to “work”; delivering meals to “old folks”; and
entertaining family and friends
As successful as he was in his professional career, Erwin’s most important achievement was the
family life he built with Margie. Son Wade was born to Erwin and Margie while they were
stationed in Huntsville, Alabama, in June of 1957. Neal was born two years later in June 1959
(nine months after Erwin’s return from Korea) in Dallas, and son Mark was born on March 2,
1962, also in Dallas. Most weekends their young family spent time together fishing, skiing,
hunting or messing around outside on some land they bought, celebrating birthdays and visiting
with the larger family at Margie’s parents’ home, and watching Cowboy games. Later the lake
house and the ranch became spots for countless family gatherings and time away with
grandparents.
Having married into the boisterous Waters family, and being a west Texan of few words (unless
he was telling a favorite story) Erwin was the quiet, solid rock in the larger family, content to let
others have the spotlight, but also the first to help sons, in-laws, grandchildren or nieces and
nephews with cars that needed repair, home construction projects, or anything that needed
“fixing.” To their own children and grandchildren, as well as nieces and nephews, Erwin and
Margie offered constant love, support, and non-judgmental acceptance, and were the gravity and
glue which kept everyone connected to the family.
Erwin was preceded in death by his parents; brother Oscar Joe; and in-laws Constance Flores and Philo Waters, Jr., both of whom were as family to him.
He is survived by his wife Margie; sons Wade (Catherine), Neal (Lisa), and Mark (Launi); grandchildren Caroline Smiley, Rachel Laird, Ryan Cooper, Brooke Law, Stevie Reynolds, Garret Cooper, Dillon Cooper, and Marshall Cooper; sister-in-laws Diana Waters and Linda Cooper; eight great-grandchildren; and eight
nieces and nephews.
Services will be held Sunday, August 21, 2022, at 10:30 a.m., at Lucas Funeral Home, 700 Wall
Street, Grapevine, Texas 76051. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the
American Heart Association or the charity of your choice.