Glenn Cooper, who lived an exuberant life on Vashon framed by independence and community-mindedness, died on Jan. 29.

He was 82 years old and had lived on Vashon for the past 32 years.

Glenn’s death, caused by respiratory and heart problems, occurred peacefully in a group home in Federal Way where he had spent the final two months of his life, said his island friends and allies Bruce and Gina Anderson.

Glenn’s life trajectory — too long defined by his disability as a person with cerebral palsy who had been institutionalized since his early teenage years — changed after Gina and Bruce championed and assisted his move to the island in 1991.

Through her work as a behavioral health consultant, Gina had met Glenn after he had been moved out of the Rainier School — a state-run home for people with development and intellectual disabilities in eastern Pierce County — and placed in a residential apartment program in Tacoma.

By this time, Glenn was 50 years old and had lost all contact with his family.

In the Tacoma program, surrounded by around-the-clock caretakers, Glenn had not thrived, Bruce and Gina said, with “too many people telling him what to do.” One night, over dinner, the couple made the decision, “against all advice,” to help Glenn move to Vashon where they believed he could live independently.

They were right — and with their continued help as well as the contributions of many other islanders, Glenn found the true home of his heart on Vashon.

Living alone in a small apartment for the first time in his life, his life blossomed as he began to establish a routine of his own choosing. Soon, he became known for his daily presence in the town center of Vashon, greeting other locals with a wide grin and a friendly hello.

“He was very grumpy when he got here,” said Bruce. “But he just came out of his shell … his attitude completely changed. It was like he was free.”

After members of the Vashon Island Chamber of Commerce helped Glenn establish a small but successful business recycling aluminum cans, Glenn even achieved status as unofficial royalty on the island, riding in Strawberry Festival parades as the “King of Cans,” for many years, while smiling and waving to the crowd.

Bruce and Gina said they had continued to serve as Glenn’s “point people” throughout the years, but that he was completely supported by a modest income from Social Security programs, some in-home support from the state, as well as his recycling business.

The cost of Glenn’s decades in the state institution, Bruce calculated, had been approximately $100,000 per year. On Vashon, Bruce said, Glenn’s support costs were one-half of that.

Glenn was helped by many on Vashon, Bruce and Gina said — notably including Gary Koch, who became his local doctor, and expert island caregivers who attended to his needs.

But countless other islanders, they said, simply made Glenn feel at home, safe, and loved on Vashon.

“Not everybody did huge things, but everybody did something small, and that adds up to a life,” Bruce said.

See a full obituary here.