John Cooley Obituary

John was born on a farm in central Michigan, the same year Roger Moore, and Lindburgh's famous flight. His first job was delivering ice to iceboxes using a horse and wagon.

He was the first member of his family to go to college and earned a Master's Degree in Hydrology. He served as a cartographer in the Korean War, and in the US Forest Service for 35 years.

He was an accomplished outdoorsman, horseman, and skier. He built cabinetry and solar water panels for the family house, and a pair of kayaks in which the family often went fishing. He loved to read the westerns of Louis L'Amour.

John lived in Durango for almost 50 years, and was instrumental in having Durango designated "Tree City USA". He spent his last years in Broomfield Colorado, to be near his sons Chuck and Bob, and his four grandchildren Sara, Anna, Hayden, and Jaxsen.

He provided for his sons, his four grandchildren, his community, and the forests of Colorado. He spent the last years of his life tending to every need of his wife of 63 years, who passed on in December. He is dearly missed.

A memorial service will be held sometime in the spring at Crestview Memorial Gardens, La Plata County.