Obituary of Lavon Keith Cooper

Lavon Keith Cooper

1931 – 2024

Lavon was born May 1, 1931 in Detroit, MI to Hobart and Mable Cooper. He was the last surviving member of his family and was proceeded in death by his parents, younger brother Don, and his beloved wife Alyce whom he could not live without.

He grew up in Missouri and attended Kirksvile High School. After graduation he joined the United States Air Force and served from 1951-1955. He was trained as a radar operator and was stationed at Cape Canaveral, FL, Grand Bahama Island during the Korean war and McClellen AFB in CA. After being discharged he enrolled at University of Missouri Columbia where he soon met his wife to be, Alyce Wilson. They married about a year later on August 19, 1956 in Omaha, AR.

After graduation they went off to start a family. Somewhere between moves to Oklahoma City, OK, Columbus, OH, Freeport, IL, Hopkins and then Mound, MN they created and raised three children: David Cooper (Connie Mae), Jennifer Hanson (Ordell) and Barney Cooper (Christina), who love and miss him.

Lavon was employed as an Electrical Design Engineer. He worked for Western Electric, Micro Switch and then Honeywell where in 1975 he received the companies H.W. Sweatt Award for outstanding engineering and technology achievements.

After retiring, he and Alyce moved to Houston, MO where they built a beautiful home in the woods and lived for 15 years before returning to St. Bonifacious, MN to be closer to their children in 2009.

Lavon went to join his wife Alyce after passing away in the home of his daughter on July 8, 2024. His legacy of can-do attitude and strong work ethic lives on in his 3 children, 7 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. May he rest in peace.