Meet Our Donors
Geoffrey Cooper
Geoffrey Cooper is a familiar figure in town. If you have ever been out on Huntingdon Pike early in the morning and seen a tall lanky gentleman picking up trash, that would be Geoffrey Cooper. Geoffrey has been keeping Bryn Athyn, the Church and community grounds clean of trash for 60 years. It all started when he was first employed to start the Huntingdon Valley Federal Savings and Loan in 1950. A newly married Geoffrey and Gaynell Cooper lived on South Avenue. They had no automobile and when he set out for work in the morning, he just couldn't abide the trash, and took to taking an empty bag with him to collect it along the way.
Geoffrey served in the Second World War in the Army Infantry. With the end of the war in Europe he was getting ready to be shipped out to Japan when the bombing of Hiroshima brought the war in the Pacific to an end.
Home in Bryn Athyn, he attended Bryn Athyn College and went on to spend two years at Wharton. During this time, he met, courted and won his wife, Gaynell. When the opportunity to form the Huntingdon Valley Federal Savings and Loan came along, he was the manager, teller, bookkeeper, and jack of all trades. As time went on, he did expand the staff and the bank grew in leaps and bounds. Geoffrey and Gaynell had 5 children. He retired from the bank in 1996. Over all these years he continued to help keep Bryn Athyn clean.
Geoffrey has given much to this community over the years, so it was not unusual for him to established 3 charitable gift annuities for the General Church, the Academy, and Bryn Athyn Church. He said, "I've been thinking about doing this for some time, now is the time."
Geoffrey and Gaynell traveled the world and raised a family together. Gaynell passed into the spiritual world six years ago. Geoffrey said "Gaynell and I had a great life."
The next time you are out and about at first light look for Geoffrey continuing to care about the community and Church he loves.