C.B.H.F.
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Class of 1989
Jack Cooper took his company, and country, to the forefront of leather goods and protective sports equipment manufacturing.
At the age of 16, Jack joined the T. Eaton Company. It was while working at the Queen Street Store that Jack approached one of Eaton’s suppliers, R.H. Cameron, owner of General Leather Goods. He and Cameron struck a deal, and Jack ended up with a sales territory that covered the entire country.
By 1946 Jack and co-worker Cecil Weeks made an offer to take over General Leather Goods. They changed the company’s name to Cooper-Weeks Limited. Ten years later, Jack bought his partner out and pushed ahead to improve and expand the company’s line of products.
It was hockey’s growing popularity during the Sixties, however, that took Cooper to the position of the world’s leading supplier of protective equipment. Jack Cooper always took great pride in the fact that his products helped prevent serious injury.
One of Jack Cooper’s few interests outside of work was the military. During World War II, he stood in reserve with the 8th Army Signal Corps. Today he is Honorary Colonel of the 709 Communications Regiment and an active fundraiser for the cadet movement.