Dale E. Cooksey

Dale was born in Trenton, MO on December 3, 1920 and lived in the midwest all 100 years of his life. His first job (at age 16) was as a shoe salesman and he eventually became store manager at age 18. He then moved to Chicago to be close to family where he married his sweetheart of 74 years, Atha Rita Cooksey.

Dale enlisted into the US Army at the age of 23 and trained at Camp Roberts, CA. When he left for Europe on the Queen Mary, he left behind his young bride who was carrying their first child. He went on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge and the Ardennes Forest where he received 3 bronze stars. He was lucky to return home in January 1946 without injuries and he met his daughter for the first time. He worked in Chicago as a manufacturing representative selling brushes (for artists, hair stylists and painters) and eventually became a sales manager at a Sherwin Williams store for over 20 years after him and his family moved to Kansas City in 1959.

After retiring, he worked as a volunteer at a Thrift Shop. He loved to tinker with clocks and he could fix just about anything that was broken. Dale was uncharacteristically active his whole life. He elected to have heart surgery at the age of 99 because he was having difficulty walking his 14 flights of stairs. He always had things to do and liked to keep busy. He was always a generous man who believed in working hard and living honestly. He is a proud American, Christian, and true patriot – he raised his American flag on his flagpole every morning and retired it in the evening – rain or shine.

You would never catch Dale without a smile on his face and he had the ability to light up a room. He loved people and had never met a stranger. His number one joy in life was his family. He was married to his late sweetheart Atha Rita Cooksey for 74 years and leaves behind 3 daughters (Barbara Shields, Joann Osborn, and Joyce Tardie), 4 grandchildren (Craig Bammas, Tricia Nelson, Jayson Ryan and Niesha Fritz), and 8 great-grandchildren who adore him.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Jude’s Hospital or Wounded Warriors.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, June 14, 2021 with a visitation one hour prior at Northland Cathedral Church, 101 NW 99th St., Kansas City, MO with burial to follow at White Chapel Cemetery, 6600 NE Antioch Rd, Gladstone, MO