TO RECOGNIZE AND COMMEND THE HONORABLE GORDON G. COOPER, A MASTER-IN-EQUITY FOR SPARTANBURG COUNTY, UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT AFTER FORTY-SEVEN YEARS OF OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LEGAL PROFESSION, AND TO WISH HIM CONTINUED SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS IN ALL HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives has learned that the Honorable Gordon G. Cooper will begin a well-deserved retirement after almost five decades as a premier attorney and judge, the last years of which have been as a distinguished and highly-regarded master-in-equity with Spartanburg County; and

Whereas, born in Walhalla in 1946, Judge Cooper graduated from Laurens High School in 1964 and earned a bachelor's degree in 1968 from Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee; and

Whereas, from 1968 to 1971, he served in the Military Intelligence Corps with the Special Forces of the United States Army, and after honorable discharge from military service, he earned a juris doctorate from the University of Tennessee in 1973; and

Whereas, Judge Cooper was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1974, and for twenty years he was in private practice in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and

Whereas, admitted to the United States District Court of the Southern District of Florida in 1976 and the United States Supreme Court in 1980, he served as an assistant city attorney for the City of Oakland Park, Florida, from 1978 to 1983; and

Whereas, Judge Cooper was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1993 and the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina in 1995. He was in private practice with the Law Firm of Johnson, Smith, Hibbard & Wildman in Spartanburg from 1993 to 2004; and

Whereas, dedicated to his profession, he is a member of the Spartanburg County Bar Association and the American Bar Association; and

Whereas, Judge Cooper enjoys playing his banjo and recalling the songs he sang in a barbershop quartet, the Palmetto Statesmen Chorus, once upon a time. Although gratified with his career in the law, he is most proud of the world-record ten-pound mutton Snapper he caught on June 1, 1986, in Bimini, Bahamas, recognized by The International Game Fish Association; and

Whereas, together with his beloved wife, Linda D. Cooper, he reared three fine children: Christi G. Austin, Danielle C. Stephens, and Ashley A. Cooper. His children have blessed him with the affection of five loving grandchildren: Julia, Caroline, Olivia, Savanna, and Cooper; and

Whereas, he plans to spend many happy hours of retirement volunteering at the Plant a Row for the hungry (PAR) garden located in Cowpens, reveling in the sporting accomplishments of the University of Tennessee Volunteers, and recounting fish tales to his grandchildren; and

Whereas, grateful for the years of dedication that Gordon Cooper has devoted to the practice of law, the South Carolina House of Representatives takes great pleasure in extending best wishes to him as his family celebrates at his retirement a dinner with him on June 26, 2021, as he transitions to a richly deserved retirement and the unhurried pace of the days ahead. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, recognize and commend the Honorable Gordon G. Cooper, a master-in-equity for Spartanburg County, upon the occasion of his retirement after forty-seven years of outstanding contributions to the legal profession, and wish him continued success and happiness in all his future endeavors.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the Honorable Gordon G. Cooper.