Obituary of Leland R. Cooper

Dr. Leland Ross Cooper, Sr., died peacefully at home on Saturday, September 13, 2008, on his 82nd birthday. He was born September 13, 1926, in Greenville, South Carolina, to Elmer Leland and Kate Irene Ross Cooper and lived in the Pond Mountain community near Creston. Dr. Cooper was a WWII veteran, serving in the U.S. Army. He was stationed post-war in U.S.-occupied Japan. He received a B.S. degree from Clemson University in 1950, and a M.Ed. degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1956. He was a Kellogg Fellowship recipient at the University of Florida, and completed an Ed.D. degree in 1964. Dr. Cooper was a public school teacher and junior college dean before becoming a professor in the Department of Leadership and Higher Education at Appalachian State University in 1967. He later served as director of the Bachelor of Technology program and retired from ASU in 1989. Dr. Cooper enjoyed travel, music, history, photography, and was a recreational pilot who built his own plane. He had a great concern for the welfare of people around the world and supported Hogar Infantil, an orphanage in Chiapas, Mexico. He was the coauthor of three oral history books: Hungarians in Transition, The Pond Mountain Chronicle, and The People of the New River, the latter two written with his wife. He is survived by his wife, Mary Lee Lambert Cooper, of Creston; daughter Cathy Cooper, M.D., of Richmond, Virginia; L. Ross Cooper, Jr. and wife Amber, of Deep Gap; sister Helen McKinney of Travelers Rest, SC; and sister Marian Bryan and husband Bill, of Mill Spring, NC and their children and families: Paige Windahl (Marc and Cooper), Erin Stalgren (Steve, Shea and Carsten) and Ross Bryan (Mary). He was preceded in death by infant brother Benjamin, brother Robert, and brother-in-law, Merle McKinney. A visitation will be held at 6-8 pm, Tuesday, September 16, at Austin Barnes Funeral Home in Boone, NC. A memorial celebration will be held at First United Methodist Church in Mountain City, TN, on Wednesday, September 17th, at 2 pm visitation preceding. A second memorial celebration will be held on Saturday, September 20th, at Traveler's Rest United Methodist Church, in Traveler's Rest, SC at 11 am with visitation following. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Parkinson's Foundation (1501 N.W. 9th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33136), Hogar Infantil Orphanage in Chiapas, Mexico (PO Box 7049, Salem, Oregon 97303), or a charity of your choice that supports children or education. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com.