Michael Cooley Obituary

Cooley, PhD
DR. MICHAEL EUGENE COOLEY, PHD
August 1, 1950 February 8, 2020
Dr. Michael Eugene Cooley, PhD, age 69, passed peacefully away, surrounded by his family on February 8, 2020 at Lark Springs Memory Care facility after a long battle with Pancreatic Cancer and Vascular Dementia.
He was born to Gerald and Anne Cooley, on August 1, 1950, in Washington, D.C. Michael graduated from Hoban Catholic High School in 1968. He entered the United States Air Force in and had 21 yrs of active duty service. He was commissioned and reached the rank of Captain in 1986. Mike served in the Gulf War during Desert Storm. He retired at F.E Warren Air Force Base, Cheyenne WY in 1991. He graduated with his PhD in Sports Psychology and taught at National American University in Colorado Springs, CO.
After retirement, he continued to serve his country as a civil servant serving at RAF Lakenheath and RAF Menwith Hill, England for ten years. He earned many awards and honors to include Civilian of the Quarter, Category 2 in June 2006. His career spanned from coast to coast, working at the Pentagon as a contractor, on Ft. Carson and Peterson Air Force Base. He also worked at Peak View Medical Center and Cedar Springs as a therapist.
Michael volunteered hundreds of hours for the Special Olympics in Cheyenne, WY and served as a Grand Knight at the Knights of Columbus, council 801, in Cheyenne, WY. His hobbies included golfing, baseball, football and coached many sports teams. He was an avid Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates fan and loved the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Michael is survived by his wife, Lesley, of 49 years, and his daughter, Michela (John) Toaddy and two grandchildren, Hudson and Bryce Toaddy, his brother Jeffrey (Peggy) Cooley of Akron, Ohio, and Mark Cooley of Northfield, OH and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Gerald and Anne Cooley.
Services will be held at Peterson Air Force Basel Chapel on March 4, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. Please arrive by 9:45 a.m. A committal service, along with military honors will be held at Pikes Peak National Cemetery to follow at 12:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Pikes Peak Hospice and Lark Springs Memory Care. Michael's family would like to thank the staff at Lark Springs for their loving and dedicated care, along with Pikes Peak Hospice and the doctors and staff at UC Health, Memorial Central Hospital.