Alvin Cooper, Jr.

On Sept. 17, 2016, Alvin “Al” Cooper, Jr. entered into rest and went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21 at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory. The family will greet friends from 10 a.m. until the time of service with a coffee time at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Kellogg United Methodist Church or Mercy Hospice House in Johnston may be left at the funeral home.

Alvin was born, April 3, 1938, in Newton, to his parents, Alvin and Willie Cooper, and lived his whole life in and around Kellogg. Al spent 58 years of his life as an engineer and sales person, traveling to far away places in this endeavor. Although he worked these many years, he still found time to pursue many other hobbies and interests. He was a pilot, lay minister, square dance caller, licensed amateur radio operator, volunteer fireman, shooting enthusiast and avid fisherman to name a few. During his life he was a member of the Kellogg United Methodist Church,the Izaak Walton League, the National Rifle Association, the Kellogg Volunteer Fire Department, the Iowa River Gun Club, the Central Iowa Square Dance Callers Association and the Newton Amateur Radio Association.

In April of 1960, he was united in marriage to Judy Hinshaw. They were blessed with two children, Mark and Cheryl, and a lovable puppy dog named Missy. They had four grandchildren, Zachary Cooper, Owen Cooper, Tyler Waskow and Dillon Waskow. Along the way they found two more (step) grandchildren, Maxwell Heng and Kaleigh Heng.

In their years together, Al and Judy were fortunate to travel to many parts of our beautiful world, including the Caribbean, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and may points in our United States of America.

Al is survived by his wife Judy of 56 years; son, Mark (Judi) Cooper of Johnston; daughter, Cheryl (Scott) Heng of Waukee; and all six of his grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; Judy’s parents; sister-in-law, Rosalie Hinshaw; a brother-in-law, Mike Hinshaw; and 13 half-brothers and sisters.