Damon L. Cooper

Damon Cooper, 81, formerly of Bucyrus, died Sunday, January 18, 2026 at Wedgewood Estates in Mansfield.

He was born August 1, 1944 in Bucyrus, to the late M. Stewart and Iva M. (Sifferlen) Cooper. Damon graduated from Bucyrus High School and worked at Ohio Crane for a few years before hiring in at Timken, where he was employed for 30 plus years prior to retirement. Damon then worked parttime for Vetech for another 16 years, traveling to different Timken factories for special assignments.

Damon’s life revolved around classic cars and specifically older street rods. He worked on, and owned several amazing vehicles throughout his life, however his two prized possessions were “Herbie”, his 1934 fire engine red Ford and “Sherbie”, a 1935 seafoam green Chevy. He proudly drove these vehicles to various car shows across the Eastern United States as well as portions of Canada and won many prizes for his beautiful work of restoring these powerful automobiles. Damon loved to watch drag racing and attended many races with his son, Steve and grandson, Seth. He and his brother-in-law, Charlie also had the privilege of working on Todd Gibson’s sprint car for many years. Damon was a longtime member of the National Street Rod Association and a founding member (as well as an officer) of the Rods-N-Tiques Car Club out of Mount Gilead.

As much as he loved cars, he certainly made time for his family and loved watching his grandson play football and his granddaughter cheer. He did his best to instill his strong work ethic in those he loved and always prompted them to work for what they needed. He also preferred that everyone take the time to think about, and work through problems, so if you were around him long enough, you most likely heard his favorite saying, “use your gourd”.

Formerly, he was an avid raccoon hunter and trapper and enjoyed splitting wood. For relaxation, Damon obviously enjoyed working on cars and was a big sports fanatic, who passionately cheered for his Browns, Buckeyes and Boston Celtics.

Damon will be missed by his children, Steve (Tammy) Cooper of Lucas and Julie Ann (Richard) Ricciardi of Hoover, Alabama; grandchildren, Seth (Morgan) Cooper, Amber (Christopher) Boyd, Christopher (Irena) Ricciardi, Shannon Ricciardi and Ricky (Julie) Ricciardi; great grandchildren, Blakely and Ethan Cooper; sister-in-law, Nancy Cooper and nieces, Terri Lynn Murphy and Amy (John) Cauvel. He was preceded in death by brothers, Terry Cooper and Darl Cooper, who died in infancy.

His family is extremely thankful for the personalized love and care provided to Damon by both the staff at Wedgewood Estates and Pathways Hospice during this period of his life.

Damon’s family will receive friends from 11 – 12:55 pm on Saturday, January 31 at Wise Funeral Service, 129 W. Warren St., Bucyrus, followed by a memorial service at 1:00 pm with Certified Celebrant Lisa Snyder officiating. He will be inurned in Union Cemetery.

His family specially request that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made payable to the Parkinson’s Foundation or the National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation. These gifts will be accepted through the funeral home and expressions of sympathy are encouraged to be shared on his guestbook page at www.wisefuneral.com.