Victor Cooper Obituary, Death – This past Friday, October 11, 2013, Victor Kenneth Cooper, Sr., who was 94 years old, passed away. On Monday, October 14, 2013, at 11:30 am, his life will be celebrated at First Baptist Church in Waco. Dr. Matt Snowden and Dr. Randall Perry will preside over the event. There will be a visitation on Monday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., which will take place one hour before the ceremony. After that, the burial will take place in Oakwood Cemetery, which will be filled with military honors. Following his time on the football squad, he went on to enjoy officiating for teams sponsored by schools and churches.
He played end for the team. As the first person to earn a degree in hotel administration, he graduated in 1942 with a Bachelor of Science degree in the subject. While attending A&M, Victor crossed paths with Donnie Audrey Kite, who would later become his wife. Donnie was from Hollis, Oklahoma. They were quite involved in the organization during his time as president of the Baptist Student Union. On October 4, 1942, Victor and Donnie tied the knot. This was done two weeks after Victor had graduated from high school and two weeks before he was sent to serve in the military during World War II.
Their marriage resulted in the birth of four successful children. In October of 1942, Victor enrolled in the United States Army Officers’ Candidate School located at Fort Benning, Georgia. In January of 1943, he was commissioned under the rank of second lieutenant. During the second wave of the Allied invasion of France, which landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy in July of 1944, he was a platoon leader for the 35th Infantry Division, 134th Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Company E. He was also a member of the Allied invasion of France. Within fifty miles of Berlin, when contact was made with the Russian Army toward the conclusion of the war, Victor led his company to the Elbe River in Germany, where they could make contact with the Russian Army.
Victor was the commander of a rifle company. In recognition of his service in Europe, Victor was presented with the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and four major battle medals. December of 1945 was when he received an honorable discharge from active duty, and he was given the rank of Captain. He worked for Baylor University in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area as an Assistant Director of Development from 1965 until 1979. His tenure encompassed the years 1965 to 1979. In addition to obtaining a Texas Basic Certificate in Gerontology, Victor was able to obtain licenses in the areas of securities, insurance, and real estate during that time period.
He had a passion for writing and spent a lot of time composing a comprehensive historical narrative of his life events, which encompassed the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, in addition to his experiences in the military. He was responsible for a number of Sunday School and Training Enlargement Campaigns in the states of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, as well as writing a number of articles for other Southern Baptist periodicals. His tenure in Dallas included serving as president of the North Dallas Park Cities Kiwanis Club and working as a self-employed individual for a number of years.
