Vernon Cooper Jr

Vernon G. Cooper Jr., Master Sergeant, AUS Retired, was born December 28, 1928 in Lexington, Kentucky. He left Lafayette High School in Lexington, KY in January 1947 to enter the University of Kentucky and left Transylvania College in August of 1950 to teach school. He attended Vandercook College of Music in Chicago and studied under Dr. Frank Simon, former Cornetist and paymaster with John Phillip Sousa’s Band. Vernon was a High School Band Director at Taylorsville, KY when he was drafted in January 1951.

He served almost 29 years in the military, starting in the U.S. Army from January 5, 1951 to December 13, 1952 as a Company Aide Man (Medic) and Company Clerk during the Korean War. After his release from active duty he became an IBM programmer in the Army Reserve before a ten year break in service. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Reserve January 6, 1966 serving 13 years in the 433rd “Alamo Wing” as Command and Control Specialist, Administration Supervisor, and First Sergeant. Leaving the Air Force on February 4, 1979, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve the next day and served as Senior Instructor and a Course Manager with the 4164 USAR School seven years. He was retired December 1988 for age.

His tours of duty took him to RAF Alconbury England, Elison AFB Alaska, and Hawaii. Stateside assignments included Davis-Monthon, Dyess, Kelly, Gulfport and Ellington AFB during the joint NASA USA-USSR space venture. He served at Fort Know (twice), McCoy, Leonard Wood, Bliss, Benjamin Harrison (three times), Ft. Sam Houston, and Ft. Riley where he supervised ten Army instructors.

In addition Vernon also served his community as an educator. He was the principal at Edgewood Elementary, and Christ the King Catholic School and was the High School Band Director at Medina, Thorndale, Edgewood, Junction (where his tennis team won state in 1957), and Junior High Band Director at Brentwood.

He was Dean of the Biology Department at McCollum High School in San Antonio for 12 years before his retirement in 1987, after 34 years of service in the public schools of Texas. He also taught Driver Education at St. Mary’s University, several private Driver Education schools in San Antonio, and public schools in Bandera and Port Isabel, TX.

Vernon was Director of the 100 year old Beethoven Band of San Antonio in the 1960’s. Before the Korean War, he was a full time student at two universities at the same time. After the war he took a double load of courses on the G.I. Bill at Southwest Texas University to attain his Masters Degree. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Transylvania University in Lexington, KY in 1954 and his Master of Education Degree from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, TX in 1957 after 4 summer’s work. In 2000 he attended his 50 year high school reunion in Lexington, KY.

Numerous awards were received from the Boy Scouts of America. He was nominated for its highest award in several councils. He received his Wood Badge from Capital Area Council in the first weekend of the Wood Badge course. He was selected Scoutmaster of a troop from Rio Grande Council to the National Jamboree in 1977. Vernon took the troop on a three-week long trip to Washington, D.C. and New York City. He held numerous volunteer leadership positions in the Alamo Area Council, including District Training Chairman for Aztec District.

He was also selected to serve on the staff of the Governor of the State of KY as a “Kentucky Colonel” in 1985, and was honored with a “Distinguished Service Award” by Transylvania College and was selected as “Best Sergeant” in the 90th ARCOM (Division) covering Texas and Louisiana in 1981. He further competed for the honor in the 15 state area of the U.S. Fifth AFB, California, placing third in his class of 123 in 1970. He was also President of the 1,000 member Edgewood District Teachers Association in 1967-1968, and Chairman of the Educators Legislative Council of Bexar County representing 10,000 members in 1969-1970.

In 1951 he married his wife of 62 years, Emilia Vela, in Seguin, They have two children, Daniel Anthony Cooper of Kingsbury, and Grace Yvonne Mendoza of Schulenburg, TX. They have 6 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.

Since retiring, Vernon had been working on his Campobello Ranch near Kingsbury. He said he bought only, “4 sticks in the ground. No one had been on the property for 50 years-no water, no electricity, no fence, no nothing!” It took him 4 years to fence the land, one year to build the 40’X24’barn. He recently completed a 56’ front porch, a 32’ back porch with a wheel chair ramp under a roof, and another 16’X16’ shop- this one for him.

Vernon played taps at veteran’s funerals when military honors are requested with the American Legion Post 245, and he played popular music weekly at retirement homes around Seguin with his band “Cousin Vern & the Kinfolk”.

He was also a member of the Guadalupe Frontiersmen of Charles Eckhardt Fame, where he showed off his homemade black powder long rifle at elementary schools, Sebastapol, etc while wearing his coon skin cap, fringed hunting shirt and moccasins. He was a life member of the American Legion Post 245 in Seguin, member with the Sons of America Revolution in New Braunfels, member of Elks Lodge 1229 in Seguin. Every year on Flag Day, Vernon held a flag presentation.

Vernon will be remembered as a wonderful husband and father, as a contributor to Seguin and surrounding communities and he will be sorely missed by those lives he has touched. The Cooper family knows he will be accepted into God’s arms because the Lord knows what a great and wonderful man he was. AMEN.

A visitation will be held at Goetz Funeral Home on Monday, November 11th from 1 to 8 pm. Funeral services will also be at Goetz Funeral Home beginning at 10 am on Tuesday, November 12th with interment to follow at Fort Sam Houston at 11:45 am where the U.S. Army will present military honors.