Obituary of John Henry Koper

John Henry Koper, age 98, of Wayne died on Wednesday, August 25, 2004. Known affectionately as Cactus Jack, he was born in Dunkirk, NY, a few months after his parents, Martin and Maryana, arrived at Ellis Island from Poland. His life spanned the diverse events of the 20th century. His family first owned a saloon in upstate NY and later a vineyard. After Prohibition, they moved to a tobacco farm in Suffield, CT, where he tended fields and dried tobacco with his three brothers and four sisters. Living up to his name by being a Jack of many trades, he started his own bicycle-repair business, then became and auto mechanic. Eventually, his family moved to East Rutherford, NJ, where his father taught him to be a butcher, and he ran Jacks Market. He married Mary Swenty during the Depression and moved to Clifton where they raised three children: Marilyn, Robert, and James. During WWII, he graduated from RCA Institute and became and electronic technician for TV pioneer Allen B. Dumont, working in his company for over 20 years. In 1964, he moved to Wayne and pursued his retirement love of flea markets, fishing, and family. He even tried his hand at acting and became known as Cactus Jack after playing a sheriff in a gold medal-winning multimedia production at the 1980 Vail Multi-image Festival. With such a diverse life behind him, no wonder he could wake up one morning during the last days of his illness and say, You know, I feel like a millionaire. In the hearts of his family, he was worth much more. He is survived by two sisters, Carol Cooper and Barbara Berkyta, both of Upper Saddle River, NJ, three children, Marilyn Michalik of Wayne, Robert Koper of Silt, Colorado, and James Koper of Wayne, two daughters-in-law, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Wake will be held Friday from 3-5 and 7-9 PM at Moores Home for Funerals, 1591 Alps Road, Wayne, NJ. Mass at St. Marys Church in Pompton Lakes Saturday at 10 AM, with burial at Christ the King Cemetery in Franklin Lakes.