Aldrage B. Cooper Jr.

Aldrage B. Cooper, Jr., 79, passed away on September 21, 2016. He was born in New Brunswick, NJ, to Ruth G. Cooper and Aldrage B. Cooper, Sr. Al graduated from New Brunswick High School in 1955, where he led the Zebras Basketball Team to a Group IV Central Jersey Championship. Following high school, Al attended the University of Connecticut on a basketball scholarship. As a student athlete, he honed his leadership skills as co-captain of the U. Conn. Men’s Basketball Team and earned All Yankeee Conference honors for two consecutive years. Al graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1959 with a degree in Business Administration. Al began his career at Continental Insurance Company as an underwriter. He then worked as a manager of customer records and billing at the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company and later as a manager of personnel at Triangle Conduit and Cable Company. In 1968, Al joined Johnson & Johnson as Director of Public Affairs. Over the course of the next 32 years, Al exemplified outstanding leadership and service with the company, until his retirement as Vice President of Corporate Affairs in 2000. During his tenure at J & J, Al served as Chairman of the US-South Africa Business Council, as well as the US-South Africa Bi-National Commission that was established by former US Vice President Al Gore and South Africa Deputy President Thabo Mbeki. Al also chaired the Minority Organization Task Force and was a member of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Contributions Fund Committee, a group of senior executives who managed the corporation’s philanthropic initiatives. Al held many civic and community leadership positions, including Mayor of New Brunswick and City Council President; Vice President of the New Brunswick Board of Education; elected delegate to the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago; Vice President of the Urban League of Greater New Brunswick and Past Master of Progressive Lodge No.17 F.& A.M. In addition, he served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Rutgers, the State University; member of the University of Connecticut Foundation Board of Directors; member of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority appointed by Governor Brendan T. Byrne and member of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing appointed by Governor Thomas Kean. Al also served on the Board of Directors for the New Brunswick Development Corporation and New Millennium Bank. Some of the many honors that Al has received include the Middlesex County Bar Association Law Day Award, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Martin Luther King, Jr. Award and the NAACP of Greater New Brunswick Community Service Award. In May 1996, Al was inducted into the University of Connecticut School of Business Administration Hall of Fame and in April 1997, he was inducted into the New Brunswick High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Al’s wife, Judith survives him, as well as his beloved children, Aldrage B. Cooper, III (Schevette) and Jill Hughes (Richard). Services and Interment will be private, under the direction of the Anderson Funeral Service.