Robert ‘Bob’ Lee Cooney, 77, formerly Burlington, died April 8, 2015 in Florence, Ariz. He was born on May 27, 1937, to the late Lorraine (Garrison) and Robert Cooney in West Allis. After spending his youth in West Allis, he served his country in the U.S. Army from 1959 to 1962.
After returning from France, he married Sharon (Gerencir) on Oct. 25, 1962. Following the birth of their children; Todd, Shawn and Vicki, they made their home in Lyons. He owned and operated Bob’s White Flash in Burlington. Having the gas station proved to be the perfect fit for Bob and the Cooney family as it created lifelong friendships and paved the way for what was yet to come.
He was an avid fan of sports and passed that love along to his boys. Starting with Little League, he became their coach and No. 1 fan. That was just the beginning of how far that love would go. Following Todd’s diagnosis of cancer, “Cooney,” as everyone would start to call him, gave his all to make a difference in children’s lives. He, along with other dedicated parents, started fundraising baseball tournaments such as The Kid’s for Cancer Tournament. In addition, Cooney was an avid supporter of the Make-A-Wish program and worked with others to raise funds for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
His love of baseball continued on, from coaching at Burlington High School to being an assistant coach at Indian Hills Community College. After watching their son, Shawn, play in the JUCCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., they fell in love with the city and relocated and opened Valley Auto, yet another family business. Since Cooney’s retirement, Shawn has taken over and continues to operate today.
After Sharon’s passing in 2005, Cooney met and married a wonderful woman, Anna. Together they enjoyed nine years of retirement bliss while traveling to many far away places, visiting family and spending their days together. Many of those trips included his love of gambling and video poker.
Cooney was the rock of his family. He was always there to support and guide all his loved ones. He was loved by his family and many friends. He will be greatly missed. His family has been truly blessed with support and love that they have received. With his love of baseball they would like to add that his passing should be marked as an error on his scorecard.
He is survived by his loving wife, Anna Cooney. He is remembered as a wonderful father by his children, Shawn (Deena) Cooney and Vicki (Tom) Cooney. He is celebrated as Grandpa Coon by granddaughters, McKenzie (Jason) and Cassie, step-grandson, James, and great-granddaughter, Ophelia.
His wonderful marriage to Anna brought him additional stepchildren to love; Brenda (Ken) Lyon, Glenda (Rick) Willard, Robert (Anne) Bledsoe and Jennifer (Matt) Keen in addition to 10 step-grandchildren and one step-great-grandchild. Cooney leaves his brothers, Dennis Cooney and Donald Krystowiak and his sisters, Karen (Buzz) Barlow and Marlene Cooney. He will be missed by his dear sister-in-law, Gail (Dennis) Murphy.
He was further preceded in death by his beloved wife, Sharon, and his son, Todd. A celebration and memorial of his life will be held on Saturday, May 9, at Ye Olde Hotel, 6070 N. Railroad St., Lyons.
Relatives and friends are welcome to visit from 1 to 3:30 p.m., with a prayer and eulogy to follow.
Paradise Memorial Crematory, Scottsdale, Ariz., is serving the family.
-
-
-
-
-