Mrs. Elizabeth Sylvey Gilbreath Cooley,91, of Pisgah passed away Friday, 12-27-2019.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, 12-31-2019 at 1:00 pm from Scottsboro Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Pisgah Cemetery. The family will receive friends Monday, 12-30-2019 from 4:00pm to 8:00pm at Scottsboro Funeral Home.
Elizabeth Sylvy Gilbreath Cooley was born on June 13th, 1928 and graduated to Heaven on December 27th, 2019. She is preceded in death by her husband and soul mate of fifty years Mr. Paul Cooley Jr. (Coach), her parents Theodore Roosevelt Gilbreath,Tressie May Hill Gilbreath, sister Sue Gilbreath McKesson, and her Great Grandson Joseph Paul Cooley.
She is survived by her son Caleb Michael Cooley, her other son Michael Barry Cooley, her daughter Kellie Cooley, and her great granddaughter Shelby Madison Cooley.
Paul Cooley Jr. met Elizabeth Gilbreath at Snead State Community College in 1949. They quickly fell in love with each other after finding out they both had goals of becoming teachers. They later got married in the English dorm that same year. After graduating, they moved to Jacksonville State University to finish earning their degrees. After years of hard work, struggle, and dedicated studying they earned their educational degrees. They then moved to Henagar where they began their first teaching positions. In the following three years they moved in to Pisgah where they would impact and touch the lives of so many students and fellow teachers. After Coach Cooley took on the role of being the head coach to Scottsboro Wildcats, where they both impacted many lives, then in 1981 after retirement they took on their greatest role, that role being a parent to their grandson, Caleb Michael Cooley.
At the end of her life, her greatest accomplishment and happiness came from her great granddaughter, Shelby Cooley. After the legacy she left this young lady went on to win four state of Alabama titles at the AOHA horse show in Montgomery Alabama, twelve buckles in Jackson County, played basketball since age four up until seventh grade, softball, volleyball, and now is a member of the Scottsboro High School golf team. She is a straight A student at Scottsboro High School, where she takes part in Junior Civitan, Science Club, Chess club. As well as winning the state of
Alabama BETA fiber arts competition and placing seventh in the nation at the national BETA competition in Oklahoma.
So in the words of coach and Mrs,]. Cooley “ Finish Well”.
(in lieu of flowers please send donations to the Cooley Foundation set up at Redstone Federal Credit Union in Scottsboro Alabama, account number, 510 140 965 42, for for the further advancement of education.
