Paul F. Cooney

Cooney, Paul F.
MENANDS - Paul F. Cooney, 88, longtime Menands resident, died Monday, January 22, 2024, after a long illness. He was born in Albany, son of the late William P. and Mary Donnelly Cooney. He was a 1953 graduate of Christian Brothers Academy in Albany, and later graduated from Union College. He served in the U.S. Army from 1957 to 1959, where he was an infantry school instructor at Fort Benning. He married Phyllis Harte on April 4, 1959, at St. Vincent DePaul Church in Albany, and they lived in Menands for more than 60 years.
A NYS Licensed Professional Engineer and Surveyor, Paul began his civil service career in 1955, with the former NYS Department of Public Works, serving as a project engineer on several major Capital Region highways, including the construction of interstates 787 and 890. In 1972, he moved to DOT's main design office, where he was a design engineer on several major highway projects statewide, and he was named the NYS Engineer of the Year in 1975, by the NYS Association of Transportation Engineers. In 1979, he became Albany County Engineer from until 1983, and again from 1986, until retiring in 1993. As county engineer, he successfully led a $25 million program to rebuild or replace major portions of the county's infrastructure system, and assisted in the construction of the now-MVP Arena in Albany. He was the executive secretary to the NYS Licensing Board for Engineering and Land Surveying, and after leaving Albany County, he was a part-time engineering consultant for more than 15 years with Boswell Engineering. He was also an adjunct instructor for several years at HVCC, teaching courses in surveying, highway design and engineering. He was active as an instructor and adviser with the Federal Highway Administration's local Technical Assistance Program at Cornell University, the University of Rhode Island, the University of Conn. and the University of Wisconsin. He also served as a volunteer engineering and highway consultant for the Village of Menands for many years. He was a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a member of the American Society of Highway Engineer, the NYS Association of Transportation Engineers, and the Albany Society of Engineers.
Paul was also active in the community, where he accomplished many firsts, including being one of the first licensed paramedics with the former Riverside Volunteer Ambulance Corps in the Town of Colonie, from 1972 to 1982; a charter member of the Albany International Airport Ambassador program in 1995 (he was the last surviving original member); and the first chairman of the Parish Council at the former St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Menands, where he also served as a trustee and chairman of the Building Committee for the construction of the new church in the early 1980's. He also served as a longtime adviser to the Capital District Future City Competition, ombudsman for nursing homes in Albany County as part of the NYS Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, and choir member at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Loudonville, where he was a member. He also enjoyed participating as a member of The Sons of Civil War Veterans (which he joined in honor of his grandfather, James Cooney) and as park of the Men's Retreat Group at the Dominican Retreat Conference Center in Niskayuna, where he learned so much about himself and his faith.
Paul always saw life as a learning experience, and for every lesson that he taught others, he learned at least one lesson of his own. He was also a welcoming and gracious conversationalist who quickly put people at ease- often with a humorous and insightful story or two, or three. It was a particularly invaluable skill that he used as an Albany Airport Ambassador to help harried travelers and assist them on their journeys.
In addition to his wife, he was the father of Patrick Cooney, Kathleen Knight (Tony), his late infant son John, and three grandchildren. His late siblings, William E. Cooney and Mary Therese Cooney.
All are invited to a memorial Funeral Mass at St. Pius X Church, Monday, February 5, 2024, at 11:00 a.m.
To leave a message for the family, please visit www.McveighFuneralHome.com
Expressions of sympathy to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, or Columbia Greene Humane Society, would be appreciated.