Josiah Seeley Cooper Jr.

Joe attended McKendree College and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1939 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering.

Joe worked as a cartographer for the U.S. Geological Survey both before and after World War II. He served in the Navy from 1944 to 1946 and was stationed on the USS Alabama. He then worked for 36 years at the Illinois Department of Transportation as a Civil Engineer.

In his prime Joe was a body builder, and continued lifting weights until he was 90. He loved to drive around the country to visit family and friends. In recent years he devoted himself to caring for his wife Betty after she developed Alzheimer’s.

Joe is preceded in death by his parents, Josiah S., Sr. and Geraldine Cooper, nee Buchanan; and sisters, Dolores Parker and Ruth Graves.

Surviving are his wife, Betty June Cooper, nee Hiller; sons, Josiah S. Cooper, III., of Carbondale, Ill., L. Andrew (Suzanne) Cooper, of Cherry Hills Village, Co., and David Cooper, of Belleville, Ill; grandchildren, Edward A. Cooper and Clare E. Cooper, of Cherry Hills Village, Co.

Memorial Contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 9374 Olive Blvd, Suite 101, St. Louis, Mo. 63132-3253.

Condolences may be expressed online at www.valhallagardensandfuneralhome.com

Visitation: Friends may call from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, December 31, 2011 at Valhalla Gaerdner Holten Funeral Home, Belleville, Ill.

Funeral: Funeral services will be held 1 p.m., Saturday, December 31, 2011 at Valhalla Gaerdner Holten Funeral Home. Interment will follow services at Valhalla Gardens of Memory, Belleville, Ill.

Valhalla Gaerdner Holten Funeral Home, Belleville, Ill.