Memorable Manitobans: Hugh Windsor Cooper (1923-1999)

Lawyer, businessman.

Born at Winnipeg on 2 May 1923, son of Thomas Cooper and Susan Windsor, he enlisted under age in the Royal Canadian Navy and rose to the rank of Lieutenant. Following his military discharge, he returned to Winnipeg and completed high school then attended the Manitoba Law School. He graduated in 1951 then attended the Harvard Business School before returning to Winnipeg where he practiced law at Trick & Restall (1954-1957). Between 1957 and 1970, he and a group of associates built Investors Syndicate and acquired Montreal Trust and Great West Life.

He served as a director of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, Macdonald Hostel for Boys, Roslyn Home for Girls, Canadian Paraplegic Association, and Manitoba Centennial Corporation. He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1967. As a partner in the Baxter Group, he moved his family to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1971 where he built commercial properties and shopping centres. He later resided in Germany and England before retiring to Vancouver and consulting in the forest industry on behalf of the provincial government. He developed and built Fibreco Export Limited to market wood chips. He retired again in 1984 but continued his entrepreneurial involvement in fish farming and wood furniture manufacturing. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Orenda Forest Products. He was married twice and had four children.

He died at West Vancouver, British Columbia on 6 April 1999.

Sources:

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 10 April 1999, page 51.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 5 June 2019

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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