Lester L. Cooper Jr. ’60

Terry was born and spent much of his life in Charlottesville, Va. He came to us from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va. At Princeton he played lacrosse (a lifetime enthusiasm), joined Charter Club, and was in the Special Program in Humanities in philosophy. He returned to Charlottesville to earn a law degree at the University of Virginia Law School.

He began his professional career with Sullivan and Cromwell in New York City. In time he migrated to the corporate sector and became increasingly involved in corporate political and regulatory issues in Washington, D.C. In 1982 Terry founded his own political-consulting firm there, working with corporate clients and political campaigns, largely with Republican candidates at the state and national level. A committed conservative, he was a widely respected thinker and enjoyed a range of friendships across the political spectrum.

After moving his firm back to Charlottesville, Terry resumed his lifelong involvement with the Episcopal Church there. In recent years he also contributed his expertise to OneVirginia 2021, a civic nonprofit founded to promote a non-partisan redistricting of the Commonwealth.

His work was cut short by bladder cancer. He died Dec. 16, 2018. He is survived by his three sons and eight grandchildren.