Described as a “larger-than-life character,” Sid Cooper was a wise and confident leader who modeled for others his deep love for the Lord and for his people. He recognized his calling as a pastor as an honor. Loved and respected by many, Sid, 94, died Nov. 13.
Born in New Jersey, Sid graduated from Calvin College (now University) and Westminster Seminary. He also earned a doctorandus in Divinity at the Free University in Amsterdam.
Ordained in 1956, Sid served First Christian Reformed Church in Sarnia, Ont., for four years. Then, as part of the Christian Reformed Church’s response to a need for Dutch-speaking pastors in New Zealand, Sid was sent on a five-year loan to serve Reformed churches in Christchurch and Auckland. He later returned to serve in Foxton and North Palmerston, New Zealand. During the years in between he pastored Trinity CRC, North Haledon, N.J.; Trinity CRC, Artesia, Calif.; First CRC, Sarnia, for a second time; and finally, Alliston (Ont.) CRC. In 1993 he retired to Sarnia but continued to serve for several years as an interim pastor for a number of churches.
Sid had a great love for creation. He was an adventurer who loved to explore as much of the world as he could and committed what he saw to memory with beautiful photography that he loved to share with others.
Predeceased in 2011 by his wife, Janice, Sid is survived by his six children, 16 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren.