Melvin Cooley

Melvin H. Cooley, 74, of Anita, passed away Monday, March 12, 2007, north of Anita, Iowa.

Melvin Henry Cooley was born March 6, 1933, to Herbert (Ted) and Anna C. (Jepsen) Cooley. He attended country schools through the 8th grade. On December 2, 1955, he married Marilyn Schrader at the Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Anita.

He farmed for 28 years northeast of Anita and then lived in Anita for 24 years, where he worked for Jessen Trucking, Allied Engineering for one year, and Western Engineering for 19 years.

Melvin served in the Korean Conflict from 1950 - 1954 on the USS Platte. He was a member of the VFW and the American Legion in Anita.

Surviving Melvin are his wife, Marilyn of Anita, IA; 3 sons, Michael and his wife, Laurie of Anita, IA, Blake of Mitchell, South Dakota and Brian and his wife, Deb of Griswold, IA; a daughter, Dana Cooley of Anita, IA; 2 sisters, Dolores Dekker of Bellevue, NE and Luetta Owens of Denver, Colorado; 1 brother, Herbert Cooley and his wife, Patricia of Papillion, NE; 1 uncle, Albert Thomas Jr. of Atlantic, IA; 11 grandchildren, Robert Cooley, Michael Cooley, Jason Karns and his wife Sheri, Stephine Cooley, Miles Cooley, Kane Cooley, Laura Rossell and her husband Stan, Phillip Church and his wife Katie, Katherine Church, Megan Church and Brandon Crews; 10 great-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Preceding Melvin in death were his parents, Ted & Anne Cooley; his brothers-in-law, Paul Miller, Robert Dekker, Richard Owens and William Schrader; his sister-in-law, Lois Cooley; and his mother and father-in-law, Virgil and Marie Schrader.