Simmie Cooper
Simmie Cooper's father's family came from Lithuania, fleeing persecution, with his grandfather and a great-uncle settling in South Africa while other relatives went to the United States or Canada. His mother's family came from England and later lived in Cape Town, where they were connected to a department store. His parents met in an elevator of a Johannesburg apartment building and were married for many years until his father passed away. His father graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand as the youngest in his class and with the highest marks, becoming a litigation attorney who was one of the attorneys involved in the Rivonia trial in which Nelson Mandela was convicted.
Simmie grew up in Johannesburg, where he described a good quality of life, and attended King David, a Jewish day school with a strong Zionist character and a dual Hebrew and secular curriculum. Sensing that South Africa's future was uncertain, his father applied for green cards, and the family emigrated in 1976, settling in Los Angeles after a brief consideration of Chicago. Because they could not take their money out of South Africa, his father, formerly an attorney, moved into real estate rather than resitting the bar. Simmie finished high school, attended USC on an accelerated schedule, and earned a CPA degree in three years.
After a brief and unsatisfying stint at a Beverly Hills accounting firm, Simmie found his calling in construction, working his way up from laborer to superintendent in residential development. In the late 1980s, following the savings and loan crisis, a California bank suggested he look at property in Texas, and he saw great opportunity in Dallas, where he came to appreciate the friendlier pace and quality of life. He built companies including Cooper Homes and Camden Homes, constructing high-end houses and developing subdivisions. Married with a daughter, Teal, and a son, Tristan, he remains grateful to his father and carries forward the strong sense of family and work ethic instilled in him growing up in South Africa.
Full Transcript
good morning this is December 11 2014 we are at the JCC in Dallas doing an interview mr. Sammy Cooper for the routes to boots project for the Dallas Jewish Historical Society I'd like to welcome you send me to the project and I'd like to start first by asking you to tell us a little bit about the arrival of your personal family to South Africa perhaps starting with your I would imagine with your grandparents and how they got to South Africa where they came from so my father's side of the family is from Russia they came from Lithuania and my mother's side of the family came from England and when did they come and for what reason it so obviously the persecution of the
Jews brought my father's father to South Africa it was one of 13 children that emigrated him and one brother came to South Africa and the rest went to either the United States or Canada I'm not actually sure how my mother's side got to you do you know what years they came and when your grandparents came what professions were they so my father's father was a trend writer in Johannesburg and I'm not sure again from my mother's side do you know what learned it where did your mother's side of the family reside so my mother was from Cape Town but her family was from Cape Town
I believe that her family was part of a department store called wards how did your parents meet my parents mentioned in an elevator they were staying in the same apartment building with my father my mother lived with her mother my mother's parents were divorced what what city was that in there was in Johannesburg emmalin here well my parents were married for my father passed away two years ago but they were married for it would be 56 years so what city were they in one been married Johannesburg and what was your father's profession my father was an attorney in South Africa my father was graduated from
the University of Witwatersrand when he was it was the youngest graduate in his class and graduated with the highest marks in the whole of the university that year what do you think were his motivation to be such a good to different you know my father came from Bolivia there beginnings his mother died before I was born his father was a very hardworking individual probably they never had much growing up so I'm sure he was you know driven to to make a better life for himself what type of law did a practice my father was was a litigation and practice all sorts of law my father
was actually one of the attorneys in the Rivonia trial where Nelson Mandela was convicted amongst along with a bunch of other people of trying to overthrow the South African government and our Father represented an individual that was the only individual that whole trial really yes that must have been exciting time in your household yes did you attend it did your family at anytime during that period feel threatened because of your father's activity I don't believe so was your mother a home keeper or a house housekeeper or I mean housekeeper but I think did she was she a homebody or did she also have a profession
no my mother's dedicated herself to raising four kids for children so tell me about your siblings so I have an older brother Gary that actually resides here in Dallas as well I have a older sister Beverly who lives in Los Angeles and having a younger sister Tracy or soon as I embarrassed going to school did you grow up in Johannesburg the whole time so I grew up in Johannesburg and actually my parents emigrated in my final year of high school which was my trick I finished school finish getting my matriculation in Johannesburg and I emigrated to those Angeles tell me about your schooling experience in
Johannesburg what type of a school did you go to um so I went to the screening systems a little bit different in South Africa we don't have junior middle high school the basic the genius school and then initially going to high school I did break spilling experience and I ended up in Johannesburg at a Jewish day school which is called King David where I finished my my high school experience and as she went back in 2012 which is the first time I went back to South Africa since 1976 and visited my old headmaster was a great experience so what was it a Zionistic school yes
very much so were you involved in after-school activities of a Zionist nature I wouldn't say so did you ever think about when you were a child did you ever think about going to Israel um I actually I did when I graduated from college in in Los Angeles I actually spent three or four months in Israel on Achilles so the Jew in the Jewish day school where you was at a dual curriculum both Hebrew and secular studies it was I only came to your school so you you say you moved to Los Angeles and when you were in youth what was your parents motivation for leaving
the country at that point you know my father was because it was involved in within the Rivonia child and my father knew Nelson Mandela like Mandela was an attorney as well they article together and we emigrated in 1976 in 1973-74 my father really saw the writing in the war and he knew that there wasn't going to be much of a future left and South African we actually applied for a green card starting in about got it green cards in 76 and that's moving in the brightness how did the family she was Los Angeles you know my father had originally bought a business in Chicago and
the weather was so cold that yeah you know I don't want to look like four so he knew people in Los Angeles like Los Angeles and I guess so when you say you bought a business was it it was not as intention to go on as a lawyer he wanted to do something else his intention was to practice law but when he came to LA and he was gonna be study for the board exams it was just too much you know it was also trying times you know we when we immigrated in 1976 couldn't get your money out of South Africa right you basically will
restrict it to living on your interesting and your money was really frozen so you actually you know support a family started laughs find other opportunities to make money so what did your father do so my father got into real estate which he was also actively involved in real estate in South Africa according to him when he saved me time was he a developer or then what was your life like himself Africa you know we had a great time growing up South Africa was when I grew up it was a great great place to live he didn't really think about as a young kid I didn't
think about the politics we weren't short of anything made a good quality of life and when you went to Los Angeles what was the comparison was major conscious shock coming from you know a place where you know the government was very very controlling in South Africa when I was there Flyboys with Ben and Kasey's coming for dinner which is a movie that's a new point it was banned so it was you know coming into your big city bit you know everything was out there no restrictions and you know tremendous opportunity as well what type of a school did you go to when he went love
to Los Angeles and what part of the city did you live in so we originally moved to Los Angeles we lived in bel-air and then from there I went to USC so you were finished you had finished high school that yes I stayed and finished my high school and in South Africa I came to the station went to USC so no I know the city quite well so you really were living a pretty primitive privileged life at the point that you were in Los Angeles in terms of the neighborhood you lived in the schools you went oh yeah so given that you were living a
privileged life in terms of the neighborhood in the school and the freedoms did you feel how did you how did you manage to kind of keep yourself under control and and and pay attention to your studies given that all of that was there - for the taking you know I was I was going to USC which was a private school again and it was expensive and you know it was it was still challenging for my you know for my father to afford to pay for everything and I actually did my college degree in three years I went to summer school graduated with the CPA degree
in she took my board exams in my final semester so you know even so does all out there was still very cognizant of the fact that you know my father was poor working hardest we're trying to provide for us and and you know it was yes really living a great privilege laugh but that's terrific three years at USC that's incredible so did you go to work in Los Angeles so I actually got a job as a with a CPA firm in Beverly Hills after six months I hated no time I gave it up what did you do after actually I got a job language force
they're like yeah well it's quite a change a change so my father was very hardcore you know very disciplinarian kind of guy and you know basic he told me if you want to go to school of he happy to support you but once she out of school and get a job you on your honor but I just I didn't enjoy it counting at all you know from my perspective it's thinking laughs you know you have to find a passion to be successful so what was the passion that you found you know I got the job at Blaine which was out of necessity but you know
they've kind of gotten into what I do today which is you know in the building business and the real estate and developing and you know I built my way up from language laws to you know become a superintendent improving houses an engine you know residential developments how did you get to Dallas so in the late 1980s when the S&L crisis hit Dallas and I guess the whole of Texas one of our leading banks in California owned a lot of property here and they said you know you should go take a look you know what's what's for sale there and he came here and I saw
this great opportunity I'll move this chair on my way out okay so we were talking about the differences in the cultures between Los Angeles and Dallas and you were going to tell me a little bit about what you thought and coming here what was so different about Dallas from Los Angeles California you know as we said you know it's a much easier place to live obviously the people southern hospitality much more friendly your daughter goes a lot farther here and just you know just overall I think it's just a quality of life was just a much better place for my kids to grow up don't
you find it easy to integrate into the community an adult so what I did find meaning to Dallas which was which was quite interesting is there the South African in a bold kind of stayed in different place in Los Angeles and even in Dallas per se because when I came to LA in 1976 there were very few South African families you know that in 1976 I think we try to have a reunion one year and I think there was no more than about 10-12 families that we could find and today there's thousands it's putting that normal or natural for you now so that we can
come here and they reach out to other South Africans and they but I you know I'm married in America and fully integrated into you know the American society so when I when I came to Dallas I didn't need a lot of South Africans but pretty much integrated into American culture then so your social life is pretty much across the board is there anything that you have brought with you in terms of South African tradition or culture that you can share with us that you've kind of tried to carry on in your own family I think you're not growing up in South Africa it was a
really strong sense of family you know when when I grew up and I mean my father made you could not miss Friday night oh you didn't care if you were going out afterwards or if you wanted to bring a bunch of your friends but it was family night and and I think that's you know a South African tribe that it's a very strong sense of a family born which which I see tell me about your nuclear family your children have children I have a daughter who's about to be 21 it goes to San Diego State University what's her name teal and I had a son
whose name is Tristan and he just started UT you know what did they study so my daughter is studying journalism and once you maybe do something Media Studies or get involved in some type of media my son is how did your daughter to San Diego State I only ask that because it's my alma mater yeah well she's you know she just loved the school as you went there she was in a bunch of schools and I mean she bought anything she's and she's not coming back she's going to stay there oh I don't blame her either if I can see right I support herself in
Southern California just waiting for come home like sweet uh-huh and then she's gonna do a semester board really well I could tell in Florence awesome so it are you involved at all in any communal activities in the in the Jewish community or elsewhere any other community activities you know I would say will involve that we you know we support the Jewish community you know my wife was on the first Dancing with the Stars first year and so we you know we're definitely involved with all the different functions we pretty involved with watch a Torah with Stefan Weinberg I actually built the rabbi to houses so
what is the name of your business so I have different companies we build high-end houses and Cooper homes and they have a company in Camden homes that we build a tree level houses and develop subdivisions is there anything else about your either your memories of life in South Africa that you'd like to tell us about that you think would it be important for your children to know as a legacy or the transition from South Africa to the United States that you think what are we important for them to know or anything in terms of values that you'd like to pass on to them I think
like I said before I think that Daddy that I feel was really instilled in us and growing up especially from my father my mother was that sense of family which I see unfortunately when you come to America you know in South Africa you go to high school you go to college or university in the same town that you live in you you live at home until you get married well that's how it was when I was there here you know the kids go to go to high school they go to college the one who goes far away from a home as possible and you know
these are 50% chance they never coming back so you know families here or scattered all over the you know America so you kind of lose that that bond maybe not the bottom but he needs that closeness of being together like my daughter for example she's gonna be in California and my son will surely come back to Texas you know so it's when she has kids please God you know a ton of splinters which I find is you know anything else that you'd like to share about your personal history very thankful to my father for for making the decision and sacrificing and bringing us here and
and I think it's you know I think that South Africans or so and then you play work ethic then it was installed in us you look upon logic the South Africans said that very very successful then you know that all work very very hard and and I think that's something that it's also something that was instilled in us see I want to thank you very much for taking time out of your busy day in your busy week this is providing a wonderful legacy not only to your family but to the Dallas community as part of our roots to boots project and we really appreciate you
participating with us this morning thank you