John Thompson Cooper, Sr., age 93, passed away on Saturday, December 23, 2023. His family will receive friends at Morrison Funeral Home on Thursday, December 28, 2023, from 10:00-12:00. The funeral service will follow in the funeral home chapel with Bro. Seth Hood and Bro. Ted Vafeas officiating. Burial with military honors will follow the service in Colbert Memorial Gardens.
He was born in Beaver Creek Valley, KY. He worked his way through college by washing dishes and serving tables at a boarding house near the college and when not in school, he taught in rural elementary schools and one summer he worked in a piston factory in Indiana. He also was in Air Force ROTC while in college and earned his Air Force commission at time of graduation. He married his wife, Myra Jean Tesseneer, shortly before in 1953. He served 7 years in the USAF. After he was released from active duty, he attended the University of Louisville in Kentucky and earned his DMD degree. He had remained in the AF Reserve and was called to active duty because of the Vietnam War and then remained in USAF 24 years. While serving in Thailand, one of the most meaningful events for him was to be able to treat patients in a leprosarium.
After his retirement from the Air Force, another meaningful part of his life was volunteer work in Guatemala. One trip, he and his wife were there two weeks and besides treating the dental needs in town, they went out to the villages to help those who could not go to town. He was also able to give Gideon New Testaments to children and teachers in the schools and provide toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss. John was a man of faith in his Savior and valued loyalty, integrity, and tenacity.
John is preceded in death by his parents Richard Wilson Cooper, Sr. and Elizabeth Maupin Cooper; sisters, Margaret and Doris; brothers, Richard and Mitchel.
He is survived by his wife, Myra; daughter; Gwendolyn Candelaria; and son, John Cooper, Jr. and his wife, Frances.
In lieu of flowers please donate to Gideons and LeSea Feed The Hungry.
