LOIS COOPER WHITE

Lois Cooper White, 99, of San Antonio, passed away peacefully on August 12, 2020 at Brookdale Alamo Heights Skilled Nursing Facility. The older daughter of the Reverend Henry F. Cooper, Sr. and Overda Fulton Cooper, she was the widow of Leevester Gilbert White of Yoakum, Texas, to whom she was married for 52 years until his death in 1995. She was also predeceased by siblings Annie Doris Cooper (1930), Henry F. Cooper, Jr. (1995) and daughter Lois Diane White (2003). Born January 19, 1921 in Kendleton, Texas, on her maternal grandparents' farm, Lois grew up in African Methodist Episcopal Church parsonages in many small Texas towns. She graduated from Galveston's Central High School in 1936 and subsequently attended Paul Quinn College in Waco, receiving a bachelor's degree in English Literature in 1940. Lois wed her soldier husband in San Antonio on March 10, 1943 at Bethel AME Church parsonage before relocating to the University of Minnesota for graduate school, earning a Master of Arts degree (English) in May 1946. The couple soon returned to Texas. For more than 50 years, Lois shared her passion for knowledge with students: a primary school in Corsicana, Texas (1940-44); St. Philip's Junior College here and Houston's Texas Southern University (1946-1957); San Antonio Independent School District at Riley Elementary/Junior High School, Phyllis Wheatley and Sam Houston High Schools (1958-1982); San Antonio Community College's Evening Division(1972-1995). After retirement, Lois was appointed to fill a vacancy as Bexar County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4 in 1995. Judge White presided over housing disputes, truancy cases and other local matters. She also oversaw a dedicated team of court personnel during her term. Lois was an ardent champion of the two-party system, fighting alongside other grassroots Republican activists since 1963. In 1966, Lois was the first Black woman candidate for the Texas Legislature from Bexar County. She served on the party's Bexar County Executive Committee, attended state and national conventions as a delegate and worked as precinct chairman for 50 years. She was offered positions in the administrations of Presidents Richard M. Nixon and George H. W. Bush. Inducted into the Bexar County Republican Party Hall of Fame in 1995, she later received the 2014 Texas Federation of Republican Women's Lifetime Leadership Achievement Award. Lois was involved with numerous civic and community groups over the years, including Bexar County Teacher's Credit Union, YWCA Board of Directors, San Antonio Mayor's Commission on Women, Bexar County Historical Commission, Bexar County Mental Health Commission. She joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority in 1949 and was also affiliated with Jack and Jill of America. A member of Bethel A.M.E. Church for over 70 years, she faithfully supported the Daughters of Bethel, the Lay Organization, a Girl Scout troop and other programs. She is survived by her daughter Attorney Doris Helene White and her husband Steven Michael Soares, San Antonio; granddaughter Dr. Leigh Alexandra Soares and husband Marcus Parker, Mississippi; grandson Steven Cooper Soares and wife Alexandra, Massachusetts; godchildren Linda Knight Burkley of Houston and Stella Brown Miller of Louisiana, as well as numerous other relatives and friends. A memorial service will be held at Porter Loring Mortuary, 1101 McCullough, San Antonio, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 22, 2020. Interment will be held at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery at a later date.

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