Howard J. Cooper Jr., a revered Ann Arbor entrepreneur with strong ties to U-M and Michigan Medicine, died March 7, 2019, at the age of 90.
Cooper, a graduate of the U-M School of Business Administration (now the Stephen M. Ross School of Business), opened Howard Cooper Volkswagen in 1965, then acquired Porsche and Audi franchises in 1972 and Honda in 1979.
When he sold the Howard Cooper Import Center in 2012 to Ohio-based Germain Motor Co., he turned down higher bidders in favor of making employee retention part of the deal. Then he gave his 89 employees $1,000 per year of service. Cooper, who served as senior manager of the Michigan football team in 1949, was an ardent fan of U-M football and basketball.
He also was a generous donor to U-M, including a scholarship fund and professorship at the U-M Medical School.
Cooper is predeceased by his first wife of 44 years, Sue W. Cooper. He is survived by his wife of 20 years, Anne A. Cooper, former senior director of principal gifts at Michigan Medicine, as well as numerous children and grandchildren.
Information from the Ann Arbor News was used in this article.