Marvin Wayne "Deak" Cooper

Marvin Wayne “Deak” Cooper, 89, of Pavo, Georgia, passed away Wednesday, July 23, 2025, at Archbold Medical Center in Thomasville.

Visitation with the family will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, 2025, and funeral services will follow at 2:00 p.m.

Deak was born on December 4, 1935, in Pavo, Georgia, to the late D. Guyton Cooper and Ella Mae Waters Cooper Wallace. Early in his childhood, his family moved to Tampa, where he graduated from Jefferson High School. Always an adventurer, he earned his private pilot’s license, which started a lifelong love of airplanes and flying. He married the love of his life, Jean, in June of 1965 and their son Scott was born in 1967. Professionally, he served in the U.S. Navy Reserve for eight years and began a thirty-year career at General Telephone and Electronics Corporation. While at GTE, he filled a variety of technical and managerial roles around Tampa Bay, earning the respect of managers and subordinates alike, until electing for an early retirement in 1983. While he and his wife Jean were working in Tampa Bay, they built a home on the family property near Pavo, Georgia, commuting back and forth on weekends and holidays. Each summer they traveled to the Florida Keys to catch lobster and fish, a family tradition his son and grandson continue today. After Deak and Jean retired from the corporate world in the mid-1980’s, they moved to Pavo permanently. Deak then worked as a self-employed pilot flying business aircraft for several South Georgia companies. When health issues prevented him from flying commercially any longer, he and Jean bought a boat and enjoyed time with the family between St. Petersburg, Key West or the Bahamas. Deak was a self-educated, lifelong learner with a strong sense of self-reliance. He could build or fix anything and enjoyed sharing his knowledge with his son and grandson. He also enjoyed attending fly-ins, traveling, boating, fishing, hunting, and watching classic John Wayne Movies, particularly with his grandson, Josh.

Deak was a southern gentleman, with a warm presence and a gracious spirit that made everyone feel welcome. He will be remembered not only for his years of kindness, selflessness and loyalty to those around him, but for the way he carried himself with quiet strength, humor, and integrity.

Mr. Cooper is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jean Cooper of Pavo; son, J. Scott Cooper and wife Ilene of St. Petersburg, FL; grandson, Joshua Tristin Cooper and partner Alexa of St. Petersburg, FL; and great-granddaughter, Alanna Rose Cooper.

Arrangements entrusted to Baker Funeral Home and Crematory.