Gold Coast lawyer Evan Cooper farewelled in packed chapel after sudden death
When people made speeches about Evan Cooper in 2023 it was supposed to be at his wedding. Instead, on Friday they said farewell.
Gold Coast
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When people made speeches about Evan Cooper in 2023 it was supposed to be about the future, a long time friend has said.
Instead, the well-known Gold Coast criminal lawyer Mr Cooper, 42, was farewell at a packed ceremony after his death last month following a long illness.
Among those gathered were his fiancee Victoria Ward, his son Harrison and father Darryl.
Ms Ward told the packed chapel of how she met Mr Cooper when she was completing her practical legal training and they were friends until their relationship turned romantic.
The pair was set to marry in September this year.
She described how her favourite nights were at home with Mr Cooper watching “angry news”, which is what he called Sky News.
She said he also loved to cook and walked 10km a day at an incredible pace.
Ms Ward also read from an email Mr Cooper sent about three years ago after watching Bert Newton’s funeral.
“I hope we end up like Bert and Patty one day – old and still in love,” Mr Cooper wrote.
Ms Ward added: “And we were. We just didn’t get enough time.”
She said doctors had suggested to Mr Cooper that he should move his wedding date forward.
Ms Ward said he refused – determined to make it to September and get married on his parents’ wedding anniversary.
Hundreds of people, including lawyers and magistrates, packed into Integrity Funerals in Parkwood on Friday to pay their last respects to Mr Cooper.
His death left the legal fraternity in shock as they mourned the well-liked Hawthorn fanatic, who took countless people under his wing as his “chosen family”.
At the funeral, many wore pink as they packed into the chapel, which was bursting at the seams with many mourners standing in the foyer and at the front doors throughout the service.
Long-time friend and barrister Ben Ihle said Mr Cooper was looking forward to making Ms Ward an official part of his family.
“The speeches this year were supposed to be about the future – his hopes,” Mr Ihle said.
“We were meant to rib him.
“To tell him again he was punching above his weight.
“He was meant to tell his favourite joke about making his way back to Victoria.”
Mr Ihle spoke of Mr Cooper’s ability to make friends at every turn, including befriending an opposing prosecutor during a difficult trial, his love of getting to know people and his not so secret desire to be Robbie Williams.
He said Mr Cooper downplayed his illness to everyone except for Ms Ward.
Mr Ihle said Mr Cooper considered his son his greatest achievement.
“He would tell anyone who listened how proud he was and that the thing he loved more than anything in the world was you,” he said.
Mr Cooper was the director of Cooper Roper Legal.
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