Few people have had as significant an impact on the shooting world as Jeff Cooper. Through his writing, Jeff added a four-syllable eloquence to a subject that had been traditionally addressed in street-vernacular. Undoubtedly Cooper was the only gun writer that had personal correspondence with William F. Buckley printed in National Review while simultaneously having correspondence with new police recruits printed in Guns & Ammo. His logic was incisive; once, when asked by a reporter if he didn’t think that violence begets violence, he responded, “I certainly hope so.” What kept him from speaking over the heads of his audience, especially when he’d refer to some bit of historical esoterica in the middle of a discussion about personal tactics or mindset, was that he always distilled his thoughts down to practical operating procedures.
In the shooting world, he had many disciples but few cronies. In the writing world, he had many contemporaries but few peers. Skeeter Skelton once said that when Bill Jordan wanted something interesting to read, he’d write it himself; hyperbole in Jordan’s case, literal in Cooper’s case. And the spectrum of his subject matter was not limited to firearms and their use. Auto racing, the distillation of agave into Tequila, the finer points of the Constitution, falconry, and a plethora of historical essays from Old Testament anecdotes to manning the Fulda Gap were all within his literary wheel house.
Having cast a giant shadow during his life, when Jeff passed away in September of 2006, Mrs. Cooper (Janelle) and Lindy Cooper Wisdom (Jeff’s youngest of 3 daughters) rightly decided that a celebration of his life was in order. According to Lindy, “We hit upon the idea of having a video produced about Dad’s life and Amy (Lovato, Jeff’s granddaughter) had a professional contact through her Hollywood days who agreed to produce it. We needed to raise money to do it right, so we hit upon the idea of a Foundation where people might be able to donate to get the video made. I think that it was mostly John (Gannaway’s) idea…. we were officially incorporated in December of 2006. Mom was the first President, I was Vice-President and Secretary and John was Treasurer.”
Thus the “Jeff Cooper Legacy Foundation” came into existence.
The “celebration” took place in May of 2007 at the NRA’s Whittington Center, one of Jeff’s favorite places, where the video, “A Man in Full” was debuted and extra copies of the video sold out quickly. The initial donations combined with the sale of the videos resulted in a surplus of funds and Janelle decided to use the windfall to offer scholarships for the Gunsite 250 class. The first scholarship recipient was a Yavapai County (AZ) Deputy Sheriff who was recommended by the County Sheriff through contact with Buz Mills (owner of Gunsite Academy). As donations continued to come in, the scholarship program was expanded to the point that to date well over 100 scholarships have been given, all for the 250 program.
The Foundation’s website expanded from a simple location for enthusiasts of Jeff’s to donate to the video project, into a repository of Cooper family photos, a short bio of Jeff, General News about the Cooper family, information about scholarship availability along with application forms. In other words, The Jeff Cooper Legacy Foundation, via the website, took on a life of its own. Today the web site has expanded to include the video, “A Man in Full,” a number of other videos, many from YouTube of Jeff conducting classes, giving speeches and being interviewed by TV pundits. There are magazine articles of the early days of Gunsite (API) and IPSC and even the minutes of the original IPSC Columbia Conference which Jeff orchestrated and conducted. There is of course a section of Cooper-Quotes, some inspirational, all trenchant. There is even a “Jeff Cooper Library Catalog” section. Gunsite grad, Kevin Beavers cataloged the 1,856 volumes of Jeff’s extensive library, with enough information to make the Library of Congress envious.
The Jeff Cooper Legacy Foundation holds a more sober place in my heart than simply an homage to the Colonel. In 2018 I was talking with John Gannaway who served on the BOD of the Foundation. He asked me if I knew of a young person that exemplified the ethos of Jeff Cooper; preferably someone that was a trainer or influencer that could pass on the values that Jeff espoused through his teachings, both philosophical and martial and someone that would appreciate a scholarship to Gunsite. A young police officer that I knew from Kansas immediately came to mind. I described him to John who suggested that I talk with the young officer to see if he had an interest.
At the 2019 SHOT show in Las Vegas I met with the officer, Mike Mosher, who was excited about the possibility of attending Gunsite. I introduced him to Lindy who was also at the show and arranged to help him get the paperwork for his application for the scholarship. A few weeks after the show, Mike and I talked and he said that he had been promoted and had new responsibilities with the Police Department and would need to wait awhile before filling out the paperwork. Tragically on May 3, 2020, Mike was killed in the line of duty. I’m not naive enough to think that if he had attended Gunsite that he would be alive today, but the possibility causes solemn contemplation.
The stated mission of The Jeff Cooper Legacy Foundation states:
Our purpose is to promote and perpetuate the teachings and philosophy of Jeff Cooper, with special emphasis on the proper techniques for the use of small arms, the importance of self-reliance and the individual right and duty of self-defense.
The Foundation awards scholarships for training and education in the Cooper tradition. In addition, it preserves, archives and maintains Colonel Cooper’s writings and personal collections so that they may provide study and learning opportunities and inspiration for generations to come.
According to Lindy, "At this point, nearly 19 years since our founding, we are continuing with the scholarship program at Gunsite started by Janelle and are looking into ways to expand Jeff Cooper's teachings and impact through partnerships with institutions of higher learning. We don't know at this moment what form these outreaches may take, but we are optimistic about the future.”
I suggest that you take a few moments and visit the website. Reading some of Jeff’s pithy quotes, hearing his actual voice giving a class or just reading about “the early days” of the modern technique of the pistol can boost your spirits in a world where boosted spirits are desperately needed.
— Greg Moats