Carlos Monroe Cooper

Carlos Monroe Cooper, DVM, age 86, of Bonner Springs, KS, passed away on Monday, October 24, 2011 at Pioneer Ridge in Lawrence, KS. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, October 30, 2011, at the First Christian Church in Bonner Springs, KS. Celebration of Life services will be November 26, 2011, at the Lake of the Forest Clubhouse, in Bonner Springs, KS. The family suggests memorial contributions to the Vaughn-Trent Community Services, Rotary or the First Christian Church in Bonner Springs, KS, sent in care of the Alden-Harrington Funeral Home, 214 Oak St. Bonner Springs, KS 66012
Dr. Cooper was born on December 8, 1924, in Fennimore, Wisconsin, and moved to this area in the early 1950s. He received his undergraduate degree at Wisconsin University and his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Iowa State University. He was a proud member of the Merchant Marines in WWII. He left his large animal veterinary practice for work in research at Jensen-Salisbury Laboratories in Kansas City, MO. Later he purchased the Vet Med Publishing Company, which he owned and operated for 35 years, building it into an international company, number one in its field of veterinary medicine.
He was a Kansas State Representative for 12 years in the 1970s and 1980s, proud to serve as a Republican in the primarily Democratic Western Wyandotte County area. He was very active in civic groups, receiving numerous awards including the Marion Vaughn Community Service Award, The Stange Award for Meritorious Service Award from Iowa State University in 1981 and the Crime Victims Compensation Board Award from the Kansas Attorney General. He was an Elder Emeritus and Stephen’s Minister at the First Christian Church in Bonner Springs, KS. Prior to that he served as a Youth Minister at the St. Martin’s in the Field Episcopal Church in Edwardsville, KS. He had been on the Board of Directors at Commercial State Bank in Bonner Springs, KS, for many years.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Phyllis Ann Cooper, in 2001 and is survived by his three children: Lynn Heffley and her husband Stan of Lawrence, KS; Lawrence Cooper and his wife Connie of Abilene, KS; and Earl Cooper of Lenexa, KS; eight grandchildren: Jeff Heffley, Melanie Magali, Holly Heffley, Christiana Schadegg, Wyatt Cooper, Thomas Cooper, Tyler Cooper and Michael Cooper; and four great-grandchildren, Brett, Luke, Mia, Hazel and one on the way.
Arrangements: Alden – Harrington Funeral Home, 214 Oak St. Bonner Springs, KS 66012 (913)422-4074