Reverend Onie Cooper

1925 - 2011

Reverend Onie Cooper

February 8, 1925

April 6, 2011

The Reverend Onie Cooper, devoted father,loving husband and tireless leader in the local community for over 50 years, passed away on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nevada at the age of 86 after many months of illness.

The oldest of several siblings, Rev. Cooper was born February 8, 1925 in Warden, Louisiana, to Rev. Ardist Cooper, Sr. and Maggie Cooper. In 1943 he left Louisiana to join the Armed Services. One of his proudest achievements was being an honorably discharged veteran of World War II and the Korean War as a Sergeant, and he served his country as honorably as he served his community. He came to Reno in the early 1960's where his voice has been instrumental ever since in shaping equal opportunity for all people in the Reno-Sparks area through his work with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at both the local and regional levels. He has also served as president of the Reno-Sparks branch of the NAACP and until recent years was Chairperson of the state's Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, and the Northern Nevada Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Committee. It was this tenacious civic work ethic that enabled Rev. Cooper to see a 22-mile portion of US Highway 395 named after King, culminating in the naming of the Onie Cooper Activist Award in 2010.

After diligently working more than 20 years as a Health Investigator, he retired in the year 2000 from the Washoe County Health Department with full appreciation for a job well done. Being retired did not keep Rev. Cooper from continuing to serve, and through his valuable contributions to church and community, Rev. Cooper was elected a member of the Advisory Committee on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for Nevada in 2010. In 2008, he was given the Citizen of the Year Award by the Reno-Gazette Journal, and in 2006, he received the Virginia Demmler Honor Roll Award from the Democratic Party of Washoe County, which President Jimmy Carter attended. He was deeply rooted in church from the time of his childhood and he continued to attend church services until he was no longer able. Rev. Cooper was an Associate Minister at Second Baptist Church in Reno.

He is preceded in death by his parents; three daughters, Denise Cooper-Jones, Sharon Cooper-Lucious and Juel Denay Cooper-Johnson; two sisters, Katy M. Scott and Margaree Beasley; and one brother, Jim Cooper, Sr. He is survived by his devoted wife, Mary Cooper of Reno, and his children: two daughters, Ernie Faye Ossey and Romelle Cooper, both of Sacramento, CA, and three sons, Onie Cooper, Jr. of Reno; Onie Dana Cooper of Las Vegas, NV, and Angelo Cooper also of Reno. He leaves behind 33 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and 7 great-great grandchildren. Also surviving Rev. Cooper are eight brothers; Ardist Cooper (Jean) of San Francisco, CA; John Cooper of Hayward, CA; Louis Cooper (Denise) of Houston, TX,; Roger Cooper (Jackie) of Oakland, CA,; Hermond Cooper (Linda) of Altadena, CA; Timothy Williams (Crystal) of Bakersfield, CA; Ray Jordan (Verlina) and Charles Ellis (Sheronda) of Monroe, LA; and two sisters, Maggie Jane Griffin (Bill) and Beatrice Mayo (Robert), both of Oakland, CA, and many, many more family members near and far.

Viewing is scheduled for Thursday, April 14, 2011, 4:00-8:00 pm at O'Brien-Rogers & Crosby Funeral Home, 600 West Second St., Reno, NV 89503. A funeral service will be held beginning at 9:30 am at Second Baptist Church, 1265 Montello St., Reno, NV on Friday, April 15, 2011, with burial to take place immediately after the service in The Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 14 Veterans Way, located in Fernley.