John Dunham Cooper Sr.

John Dunham Cooper, Sr., longtime resident of Stroud, joined our Lord Jesus on Wednesday, May 16, 2014, 3 days short of his 92nd birthday. John was born in Greenfield, OK on May 19, 1922, the son of Bedford Franklin Cooper, a carpenter, and Beulah Blanche (Dunham) Cooper, a school teacher. He graduated from Guthrie High School in 1940 where he was active in 4-H and FFA. John married the love of his life, Mary Lou Groom in 1941. John and Mary Lou grew up during the depression and dust bowl era, and knew many lean times during their 60 years of married life as farmers. Mary Lou died 3 days prior to her birthday, in 2001. The Cooper family moved to Stroud in 1958, but John liked to tell folks he was still a newcomer. He was employed as a soil conservation engineer for the USDA in Bristow for 30 years, however farming and ranching, with his family by his side, was his true passion. John was an excellent mechanic and loved to work on, operate, and admire antique farm machinery. He loved the study of the Old West and had a great love and interest in the 101 Ranch at Marland, OK. John had an encyclopedic knowledge of the 101 Ranch sparked by his boyhood visits to the ranch and was sought out by the author Michael Wallis for research on his book about the 101. He loved sharing the stories of the 101 in its glory days. John loved the 101 Ranch, toy tractors and farm equipment, longhorns, buffaloes, history books, his cat, watching his daily 'judge' shows, garage sales, and most of all his family. He loved to interact with his grandchildren and great grandchildren, and always made their time spent with him full of love and laughter. In addition to his parents, John was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Lou; son, John D. Cooper, Jr.; grandson, Bryan Cooper; infant grandson, Thomas John Cooper; and his brother, Bill. He is survived by his sons T. Zack Cooper and Charles F. Cooper; daughter, Clara Hodgens; 14 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. Services will be Tuesday, May 20 at Parks Funeral Home Chapel in Stroud.