Over two hundred people paid tribute to a local newsagent who served a Bucks community for 40 years. 

David Cooper, who owned and ran D&J News at 35 West Street in Marlow for 40 years alongside his wife Julie, sadly passed away on August 2, just a month after the couple closed their beloved newsagent shop to spend more time together after his cancer returned. 

Richard Cooper, the couple's son, said David's funeral, which was held at Milton Chapel in Amersham on Thursday, August 24, was a "simple affair", suited to his father's tastes, but very well-attended, with over 250 people paying tribute to the man Richard described as "cheeky as hell" and someone who was "there to serve others". 

David and Julie lived in Cookham but became an indispensable part of the Marlow community after opening D&J News in the 1980s.

They made the decision to close the newsagents earlier this year and D&J News delivered its final paper round on Sunday, July 2.

Speaking back in June, David said: "It's been very enjoyable. We've made lots of friends and seen lots of people pass through and onto above.

Bucks Free Press:

"People have asked us, 'Oh, why are you retiring?' Well, put it this way - we've been umming and ahhing about it for a while, but when my cancer returned after eight years, that was the deciding factor that we should spend some good time together instead of just working together all the time.

"It's been good, it's been a good time. We're sorry to go, but we'll be happy to meet again." 

Julie said she had been "overwhelmed" by the number of people who attended David's funeral, describing it as a "very good send-off".

"It was unbelievable the amount of people who came - I can't thank them enough. There were people there who gave him a helping hand through chemo and supported him while we were running the shop.

"I feel that people should know how grateful we are. It was exactly as he would have wanted it." 

Richard also said seeing the number of people who had attended his father's funeral had been an "emotional" moment, adding: "There were people there who had come into the shop every day for 20 years.

"People saw it as their daily pilgrimage, but my dad would only ever see himself as a pilgrim too - someone who was there to serve others."

Only around half of the 250 attendees had been customers of D&J News, Richard said, a touching indication of how many lives David touched over his lifetime, during which he had also been a Freemason and worked in engineering and marine science. 

"He was always cheeky as hell, so many people said that. Even with his battle, he was never going to give in. 

"He fought right to the end, that was just his attitude to life."