Kenneth Cooper

1958 - 2023

Kenneth Cooper

Kenneth Daryl Cooper departed this life on Monday, Jan 2, 2023; Public visitation will be held on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023; Funeral service will be held on Mon. Jan 9, 2023 at 12 Noon at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church; 1110 Allen Rd, Dothan, AL with burial to follow at Gates of Heaven Cemetery.

Kenneth Daryl Cooper was born in Dothan, Alabama on September 19, 1958. He is the son of Mrs. Gwendolyn Ball Cooper and the late Mr. Robert J. Cooper, Jr. He is the grandson of the late Mrs. Beulah Holland Ball, the late Mr. Theodore Ball, the late Ms. Vesta Lee McCloud, the late Mr. Robert J. Cooper, Sr., and the late Mrs. Marie Kirkland Cooper.

At an early age he joined the New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. During his childhood he was a member of the Youth Department and served as the secretary of the Sunday School Department from elementary school until he graduated from high school. Although he worshipped at several churches in the Atlanta area, he remained a member of the New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church until his passing.

He is a member of the Dothan High School Class of 1976. As a student there, he was a member of the National Honor Society, the varsity basketball team, and the "D" letterman club due to his participation on the basketball team. He was selected as a Dothan Teen of the Week, a program sponsored by a local Dothan newspaper. He graduated with honors from Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1980. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science there.

During his career, he served as a political aide to a governor, two lieutenant governors, a United States senator, a department head, and a presidential candidate. He also worked for the United States Census Bureau. He wrote and self-published a book entitled Loyal Lieutenants: The Fascinating World of Political Aides, which is about his experiences as a political and government aide. Most recently, he worked as a Market Research Representative in Norcross, Georgia.

He leaves to cherish memories of him, his dear and loving mother, Mrs. Gwendolyn Ball Cooper, of Dothan, Alabama; his sisters, Ms. Jacquelyn Ovedia Cooper, of Newnan, Georgia, and Ms. Marilyn Anita Cooper, of McKinney, Texas; his brother, Mr. Edward Ramon "Ray" Cooper, of Dothan, Alabama; his aunt, Ms. Elizabeth Cooper Battle, of McDonough, Georgia; his uncles, the Honorable William Cooper, of Enterprise, Alabama, and Mr. Charles Hall, Sr., of Fitzgerald, Georgia; many cousins; and friends of the family.