A moment of silence was observed Tuesday at the start of the New Smyrna Beach City Commission in honor of Ed Cooper who died Jan. 23. He was 85.
The recognition was asked of the more than 200 residents in attendance in the DeBerry Room at the Utilities Commission building on Canal Street by Mayor Sally Mackay who described Cooper as an exemplary citizen.
Cooper died at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, his wife, Vivian Cooper, said Saturday.
Ed Cooper was known throughout Volusia County for his tireless efforts to raise money for Hospice of Volusia anf Flagler counties, generating $600,000 in the last six years.
"He never got mad at anyone -- he never held grudges," Vivian Cooper said of her husband. "His job was to change the world for the better."