Ronald Delos Cooley

1906 - 1980  (73 years)

• Name	Ronald Delos Cooley  [1]
  Birth	28 Jan 1906	Crofton, Knox Co, Nebraska   [1, 2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Death	11 Jan 1980	St Luke's Hospital, Denver, Colorado   [1, 4]
  Burial	15 Jan 1980	Limon, Lincoln Co, Colorado   [5, 6]
  Person ID	I25	Cooley Miller Sears Barnhouse
  Last Modified	16 Jan 2023

  
  

  Father	Herbert Merton Cooley,   b. 15 Oct 1875, McGregor, Clayton Co, Iowa d. 4 Nov 1914, Yankton, Yankton Co, South Dakota (Age 39 years)
  Mother	Jane Elizabeth Holliday,   b. 20 Mar 1884, Castle Sowerby, Cumberland, England d. 1 Jan 1908, Crofton, Knox Co, Nebraska (Age 23 years)
  Marriage	26 Apr 1905	Holliday Farm, Knox Co, Nebraska   [7]
  Family ID	F8	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Irene Elva Skinner,   b. 29 Jul 1907, Anabel, Macon Co, Missouri d. 6 Dec 1990, Hugo, Lincoln Co, Colorado (Age 83 years)
  Marriage	19 Jul 1935	Denver, Denver Co, Colorado   [1, 8, 9]
  Children	1. Luanne Mildred Cooley,   b. 22 Apr 1940, Limon, Lincoln Co, Colorado d. 19 Dec 2021, Limon, Lincoln Co, Colorado (Age 81 years)   2. Living
  Family ID	F22	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	17 Sep 2022

  
  

• Notes

  Ronald Delos Cooley was born in Crofton, Knox County, Nebraska 28 Jan 1906, son of Herbert Merton (Mert) Cooley and Elizabeth Holliday. Late the next year a second child, Merton Beth Cooley, was born (7 Dec 1907) shortly after which Elizabeth died of complications. Ronald went to live with his grandparents Robert Reed Cooley and Beth was taken in and raised by his uncle Robert Berton Cooley and his wife, Carrie Louella Miller. Ronald attended grade school in Crofton, Nebr, and high schools in Flagler, Colo and Otis, Colo. While in Crofton he helped his father, Mert, in his newspaper business then continued to help at his uncle Bert's newspaper, the Otis Independent, in Otis, Colo in 1911. He learned to operate the Linotype at the Independent and with his early immersion in newspapering, Ronald decided to continue in the business. He first attended the University of Denver then the University of Colorado in Boulder Colo where he attained a bachelor's degree in journalism. While at the University, Ronald was a member of Kappa Sigma social fraternity and of Sigma Delta Chi journalistic fraternity where he served as president in his senior year. After graduation he took a newspaper job with Smith-Brooks Printing Company in Denver. In succeeding years he also worked at the Record Stockman, the Denver Post, and one summer, at the Steamboat Springs Pilot. Eventually he returned to Akron, Colo., to work at his Uncle Bert's newspaper, the Akron News-Reporter. In Denver he was married to his high school sweetheart, Irene Skinner, on July 20, 1935. They had two children, Luanne b. 22 May 1940, and a son, James Ronald b. 16 Dec 1943. Luanne was married to Larry Winkelman of Dodge City, Kan., and James married Maria Morrison of Holdrege, Nebr. On February 15, 1937, Ronald and his cousin Dale moved to Limon, Colo., to operate the Eastern Colorado Leader as a partnership set up by Bert. About two years later the paper was combined with the Genoa Sentinal and renamed the Limon Leader. The partnership continued until June 1, 1972, when the newspaper was sold to Norman R. Sunderland and Associates. "During the Eisenhower administration, Ron [was offered] the job of Postmaster at Limon. Before accepting the position Ron lost a lot of sleep while pondering the multitude of details and irritations that would be a part of a postmaster's daily life. 'I got as far as the swearing-in part of it, then decided not to take it', Ron recalled". Ronald served as Mayor of Limon for two terms and as a city councilman for several terms. In 1955, Ronald and Dale, were honored as "Editors of the Year" by the University of Colorado Department of journalism. He was a member of the Colorado Press Association while active in the newspaper business and served on the board of directors, as well as in many different committees. He was a member of the Limon Lions Club of which he was a charter member, a member of the First United Methodist Church of Limon, and an honorary member of the Limon High School "L" Club. Ronald Delos Cooley died January 11, 1980 ae 73. He is buried at Pershing Memorial Cemetery (Limon Cemetery), Limon, Lincoln County, Colorado. Note that Ronald Delos died just 37 days after the death of his cousin Clifford Coyne Cooley (both raised as brothers) who had died on 5 Dec 1979 in Akron Colorado. One's death close to the death of a sibling or close relative is called the bereavement effect. This effect came into play in this family again in 1994 when cousins-raised-as-brothers Robert Miller Cooley and Merton Beth Cooley died just one day apart, Beth 3 Nov 1992, Bob 4 Nov 1992. [10, 11] (Research):Delos - As a given name for boys it is of Greek derivation, and the name Delos means "from Delos" where Delos is a tiny Greek island that was sacred to the ancient Greeks who believed that Apollo and Artemis had been born there. Its usage peaked modestly in 1904 with 0.007% of baby boys being named Delos. - http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Delos

  
  

• Sources

  [S367] Irene Elva Skinner, Irene, Family dates (Reliability: 3). [S644] United States Govenment, wwii draft reg, World War II Draft Card, serial number 238, order number 377 (Reliability: 3). [S398] Carrie Louella Miller interviewed by Daniel Berton Cooley 1968 , CL Miller Cooley Bible, DBC interview 1968 (Reliability: 3). [S303] Social Security Administration, U.S. Government, SSDI - master, SSN 523076417; Death date only mo and yr: Jan 1980 (Reliability: 3). [S566] Find A Grave website founder Jim Tipton, Findagrave, Memorial ID 78083101 (Reliability: 3). [S399] Daniel Berton Cooley in 2003, DBC Pershing observation, 2003 photo (Reliability: 3). Ronald Delos Cooley and Irene Elva Skinner [S630] Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, Nebraska., Marriages Nebraska, (Ancestry.com. Nebraska, U.S., Select County Marriage Records, 1855-1908 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017. ), Knox County Marriage Records p356, Marriage License nr 2065 (Reliability: 3). [S771] State of Colorado, Division of Vital Statistics, Colo marriages, (Ancestry.com. Colorado, U.S., Select County Marriages, 1863-2018 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2020. ), State of Colo Marriage Record Report nr 2058;Marriage License 7/19/1935, married by Minister JS Dapp 7/20/1935 (Reliability: 3). [S758] Local Newspaper, Marriage notice, St. Joseph News-Press, St. Joseph, Missouri, 04 Aug 1935, Sun (Reliability: 3). [S760] Local newspaper, Newspaper story, The Limon Leader vol 69, no 3, Thursday, Jan 17, 1980 (Reliability: 3). [S760] Local newspaper, Newspaper story, The Denver Post, 3/4/1972, p12 (Reliability: 3).