Jonathan Cooper, 58, of Newport, RI, died unexpectedly of a heart attack in Stowe, Vermont while on a ski weekend with his wife and eldest daughter on February 28th, 2026. He was born in Frisby on the Wreake, Leicestershire, England in 1967 to Hilton and Eileen Cooper. He got a love of the outdoors from his father and creative spirit from his mother. Jon graduated with honors from City University, London where he studied mechanical engineering and made lifelong friends. He had many adventures in his gap year, none more exemplary of his “see where life takes you and enjoy the ride” mentality than the couple months he spent as a chicken butcher in Australia.
Jon met his wife, Aliki, when the two worked at Intel in Portland, Oregon together. He had a blast skiing, hiking, and exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Despite Jon’s reserved English nature, he and Aliki had a Big Fat Greek Wedding in 1999, where their families from all corners of the world came together to celebrate in the middle of a hurricane. In 2001, Jon and Aliki embarked on a 9 month journey across Europe, Asia, and Africa, before they discovered they were expecting their first daughter and returned to the US to start their family. They moved up to Newport on a whim while searching for jobs in the Boston area. Jon lived the most beautiful life by the sea, raising his daughters Eleni and Pauline, swimming in the ocean with his friends (no matter the weather or season), doing the cryptic crossword on the porch with Aliki, and going to IHOP every single Saturday.
Jon had an impactful career in software engineering, helping to develop the first video conferencing systems at Intel in the 90s, helping to make airports safer through work on x-ray machines at Smith’s Detection, and bringing precision and quality to his work on headphones and speakers for Bose. He held four patents across his career.
Jon insisted on following the tradition of a full English breakfast followed by roast dinner every Sunday, and he never finished a weekend meal without a bowl of ice cream followed by a bowl of cereal. He engaged in lively debate and philosophical musings with anyone who was up to the challenge, and loved to quote Darth Vader to his girls, earning himself quite a few pieces of “I am your father” merch over the years. He had a booming voice and assertive personality, but at his core he was one of the gentlest men in the world. He had zero shame in his love of bubble baths, was incredible with small children, and was known to cry at most hand written cards he received.
Jon loved to tout his status of “highly trained athlete” and he swam in open water any chance he got. He found his passion for swimming in his 40s, and practically grew gills in the following decades, from an 11 mile swim in the English Lake District, to a marathon 33.3k across four days in Montenegro, to countless Saturday morning swims at Mackerel Cove with his amazing, daredevil crew of fellow merpeople. His other love was alpine skiing, and through a Northeast ski pass he splurged on for the 25/26 season, he was able to hit the slopes seven times this year, with his 64 runs meticulously documented across apps and watches to analyze his stats. While “I’m tired and I ache” became a Jon Cooper catch phrase among his loved ones, he never truly let anything stop him, and rarely complained when faced with a challenge (man colds notwithstanding). His dedication to swimming inspired so many people and entertained many tourists that noticed him from the cliff walk, swimming from forty steps to first beach in the summer.
He was great at his work and a passionate athlete, but there was nothing he loved more than his family, dealing with years of two hour commutes to make sure the Newport Coopers could have a great life filled with travel, and his daughters could go to great colleges and be whoever they wanted to be. He was an incredibly devoted husband, always offering to carry Aliki’s luggage on trips and holding her hand to keep her steady. He adored his nieces and nephews, and placed great importance on spending time with his extended family, bringing his wife and daughters on adventures all over the world to see their relatives and explore. Of all his trips across the globe, visits to Knossington and Auckland to see his siblings were always a highlight. A word of advice: never follow Jon on a “short walk” unless you’re prepared to go off the beaten path for ten miles without food, water, or the restroom. While he had a tendency to dive into experiences with a tad too much zeal, he was always the one that pushed his loved ones to get out there, have fun, make memories, and live life to the fullest.
Jonathan was preceded in death by his parents, Hilton and Eileen, and father-in-law John Compos. He is survived by his wife Aliki, daughters Eleni and Pauline, siblings Joan (Ben) Gibson and Stephen (Kim) Cooper, mother-in-law Pauline “Zippy” Compos, sisters-in-law Polly (Stephen) Anton and Margaret (Dennis) Dixon, nieces and nephews Lucy (Martin), James (Gema), Mei, Gillian (Jan), Daniel, T.J., Alex, and Demitri, and great nieces and nephews Isaac, Erin, Luke, Nathan, Reuben, and Abigail.
Visiting hours will be Friday, March 6th from 4-7pm at Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport with the Trisagion service taking place at 5pm. Funeral service will follow on Saturday, March 7th at 11am at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church, Thames Street, Newport.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to PFLAG (https://pflag.org/) or Swim Across America (https://www.swimacrossamerica.org/).
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