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 Photograph by Michael Polito
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His raspy voice and irreverent humor ruled the region’s radio waves for more than a decade, so when longtime WPDH (101.5 FM) radio host Mark Cooper died of complications from a stroke at age 49 in August, local fans declared that mornings would never be the same. Coop, as he was affectionately dubbed, first came to the station in 1998 and was best known for his collaboration with John Tobin on the highly rated Coop and Tobin Show. “Everyone at WPDH is completely devastated,” read a statement from the station. “Coop was a friend to so many people in the Hudson Valley and had an incredibly infectious joy for life.”
After suffering a stroke in August 2012, Cooper turned his life around by losing 70 pounds and quitting smoking. And more importantly, he took up the cause of educating people about the perils of early stroke. “Most people don’t come out nearly as well as I did. I can’t even begin to say how incredibly lucky I am,” he told Hudson Valley earlier this year. And we were all lucky to have him as part of our community, too.
» Read about Coop’s recovery from his stroke in 2012
» 101.5FM WPDH celebrates its 35th anniversary
» Return to Year in Review 2013
