He graduated from the rural Conrad, Iowa school system (Class of 1952) and Iowa State University in 1957 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, then served two years as a draftee in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1957-59. After his discharge, he entered the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., completing his law degree in 1962.

In 1960, he married Constance Bellinger Simms in Washington, D.C.; she was the daughter of Perry and Constance (née Hanlein) Simms of D.C. Equipped with his law degree and Connie with her nursing degree, along with a baby daughter, the young couple moved to Ohio and lived for many years in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood. There, they completed their family with Shannon (Craig) Strachan, Charles Chadwick “Chad” (Amy Brill) Cooper and Ellen (Matthew) Ospelt. They also raised a foster child, Henry Peak, for seven years. They have eight grandchildren: Cooper, Caroline (Collin Lefelhoc) and Daniel (Halle Krebs) Strachan; Samuel and Sarah Cooper; Truman, Grace and Grant Ospelt; and one great-granddaughter, Lorelai Molly Lefelhoc.

Hal practiced law in Cleveland for ten years before being appointed as a Trial Judge at the U.S. Court of Claims in Washington, D.C. After several years at the Court, he resigned and returned with his family to Cleveland, where he joined the international law firm Jones Day. He founded the Intellectual Property Law practice at that firm, representing major corporations, including Ford Motor Company, Texas Instruments, Lubrizol Corp., Firestone Corp., Glidden Corp. and Eastman Chemical in nationwide intellectual property litigation.

Upon his retirement from Jones Day at age 64, he and Connie moved to their farm in Austinburg, Ashtabula County, where he raised cattle and cultivated hay, corn and soybeans. In 2018, at the age of 83, Hal retired from farming, but he and Connie chose to continue living on the farm. They enjoyed traveling and actively participating in the social life of the county.

Hal was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Connie, in 2021; his parents; his sister Betty Jo (Dooley) and her husband Jerry Dooley; and his brother Leslie Truman Cooper.

He is survived by his children, their spouses and their children; his sister-in-law Sharon (Baynham) Cooper; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Memorial services will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at Bogner Family Funeral Home, 36625 Center Ridge Road, North Ridgeville, OH 44039. (Services will be Livestreamed on Bogner Family Funeral Home Facebook page.)

Beginning at 11:30 a.m., the family will welcome guests before the service. A dessert reception will follow at the Bogner Life Celebration Center next door to funeral home.

If desired, memorial contributions may be sent to Messiah Lutheran Church, 615 West Prospect Avenue, Ashtabula, OH 44104, or condolences may be sent to Hal’s eldest child, Shannon Strachan, 916 East Drive, Huron, OH 44839.

To watch livestream of the service from Bogner Family Funeral Home's Facebook Page, click link below.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100045573466623

For further information or to send an online condolence, please visit www.bognerfamilyfuneralhome.com