William Wallace Cooley

William (Bill) Wallace Cooley Sr. 85 passed away on August 28, 2019 after a courageous battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife of 62 years Mary Jo Aske Cooley, his daughters Linda Cooley Nash of Newtown, CT, Barbara (Bobbi) Jean Cooley Dykes of Des Plains, MO, and son William (Bill) Wallace Cooley Jr. of Monument, CO. Four Grandchildren – Kristen & Travis Dykes of MO, Sophia & Soren Cooley of Monument, CO. One Great-grand child William Dykes. Bill & Mary Jo were born, raised and married in Edina, MN. They lived in Jackson, MS and eventually landed in Ambler, PA where they stayed for 16 years. After seeing the John Denver Christmas special in 1976, the family decided to move to Boulder, Co in 1977. In 2015 they moved to Louisville, CO.

Bill joined the US Air Force in 1955 where he went through pilot training and eventually flew for SAC in Thule Greenland. After leaving the USAF in 1959 Bill worked 8 years for Aeroquip Corporation. Bill was hired as a pilot for Pan American World Airways in 1964 and flew for 27 years. During Bill’s career with Pan Am he flew the Boeing 707, Boeing 747 and eventually was Captain on the Airbus A-310.

When Bill retired he took up cycling and became an avid cyclist. Bill rode across the U.S. twice in his 60’s as well as riding through Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands. He loved the people he met while riding. Bill would very often stop for fellow cyclists on the side of the road to lend a helping hand, meal or Bill and Mary Jo’s home to stay in. He never met a stranger during his life or the 27,000,000 miles of flying and the 100 plus countries he visited while working for Pan Am. We will miss his dry sense of humor and his big smile. He was never afraid to cry tears of joy for anything that made him happy. We will miss you OLDMANONABIKE – he had a hashtag before hashtags existed. He was just that kind of guy…very Cooley.