Dr. John Frederick Cooper M.D.

September 6, 1958 - March 4, 2020

A celebration of John's life is scheduled for August. The service is being held outside at a private residence. Attendees are asked to wear a mask and social distance by household. Please email [email protected] for details. John Frederick Cooper M.D., passed away at home on March 4, 2020 at the age of 61. John was born on September 6, 1958 in Austin, TX. He had an uncommon childhood, having lived in Mexico City, Oklahoma, Brazil, and New Orleans before moving to Columbus, OH. He was a proud graduate of Upper Arlington High School in Columbus, OH (1976), The Ohio State University (1980 with a BS in Microbiology). He went on to medical school at Ohio State and completed his Internal Medicine residency and Chief residency at Mount Carmel Medical Center. He completed an Infectious Disease Fellowship (1987-1989) at Vanderbilt University. He lived in Madison, WI for two years before the cold chased him to Indianapolis for the next nine years. He moved to Louisville, KY to take on the role of National Director of Infectious Diseases, for Vencor. After two years there, he spent the next 20 plus years in private practice. John was named “Top Doc” by his colleagues for over 15 years. While in Louisville, John worked in the Norton Hospital system and at Jewish, Kindred and Baptist Hospitals. John treated his family, friends, and patients with an uncommon level of compassion. He was an excellent listener and often surprised people with gifts based on what he’d heard them talk about. Outside of his work, John was a devoted Ohio State Buckeye fan, and an avid gardener who loved growing and eating insanely hot peppers – he was known to push the spicy food threshold to the limit. Along with his peppers, John thoroughly appreciated a good crawfish boil and a dish of Graeter’s ice cream. He enjoyed reading and particularly loved to learn about guns, rare bourbons, submarines and other warships, sailing and boating. In recent years he came to love shopping for food and became an adventurous cook with a collection of recipes that he eagerly shared with others. He enjoyed planning the details for trips that he and his wife Carol took and he had a knack for finding unique destinations. He loved reading to, holding and playing with his granddaughters. He was also a passionate supporter of the Derby City Dragons. John played piano beautifully and especially enjoyed spending time with Carol and their dogs in what he called his “favorite room of the house”, the back patio. John is preceded in death by his parents, Donald Cooper (1931-2018) and Ellen Hutchins Cooper (1935-2004). He is survived by his loving wife and soulmate, Carol Challas, brother, Thomas Cooper (Tammy) and sister Linda Cooper. He is also survived by his children Rebecca Tharp (Greg), Daniel Gimm (Kira), Rachel Heyne (Tim), Tom Gimm (Emily), Daniel Cooper (Holly), Jack Gimm (Jessica), and Benjamin Cooper. In lieu of flowers, please donate to a charity of your choice in John’s name. The family will have a box to collect your written memories and stories about John. Feel free to write down your thoughts ahead of time and bring them to the visitation or service, or we will provide paper and pens at Pearson's.