Richard (Dick) Laurence Cooley, 78, of Ace, Texas passed away on March 29, 2013.

Richard Cooley was born in Decatur, Illinois, the son of Harry A. and Marie Cooley on July 14, 1934. He graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 1952.

Richard was married to Lois Redden on August 6, 1954; they were married 58 years. He and Lois moved to Houston, Texas, April 28, 1962. He retired from Western Auto in 1974 and moved to Polk County in 1984.

Richard is preceded in death by his mother and father of Decatur, Illinois; son, Jon Edward Cooley, of Houston, Texas; daughter, Sandra Kay Cooley, of Decatur, Illinois; brother, Bob Cooley and wife Doris, of Decatur, Illinois; brother, Jim Cooley, of Decatur, Illinois; and sister, Jean Harper and husband Ray Harper, of Ramsey, Illinois.

Richard is survived by wife, Lois Cooley of Ace, Texas; daughter, Donna Ellison and husband Jerry Ellison, of Livingston, Texas; daughter, Kathy Cooley and special friend David Bowen of Livingston, Texas; grandchildren, Megan Phillips and husband Joshua Phillips of Livingston, Texas, Justin Ellison of Livingston, Texas, and August Conatser of Livingston, Texas; brother, Tom Cooley and wife Cheryl of Summerfield, Florida; many nieces, nephews, and other family and friends.

He enjoyed woodworking and furniture making. He also enjoyed the outdoors and feeding the birds and animals. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Livingston. He was also actively involved in many organizations, such as: Polk County Tri-Ethic Redistricting Committee, Polk County Postal Advisory Council, Community Medical Center Board of Directors, Past President of Property Owners of Ace, Texas Inc., Polk County FEMA Local Emergency Food and Shelter Board, Local Emergency Planning Committee, Skywarn Severe Weather Reporting Team, Texas Gulf Coast Emergency Management Association, DETOG Intra-agency Council, Texas Information and Referral, and a Charter Member of the Regional Advisory Council. He was also a member of the South Polk County Fire Department from 1987-2006, where he served as a firefighter, EMS coordinator, and EMS first responder. He previously served as assistant chief of the SPCVFD. He was the Executive Director of the Polk County Chapter of the American Red Cross which he reactivated in 1989, and a CPR and First Aid Instructor. He taught 435 CPR and first aid courses to 3,161 participants. He also was a caseworker in 335 military emergency situations. He, himself, took 28 Red Cross disaster, health, and safety, and leadership courses. He was a founder of Operation Desert Storm Military Family Support Group. He worked numerous floods, forest fires, tornadoes, wind storms, pipeline blowouts, and house fires throughout Polk County and most of East Texas. He also worked Hurricane Andrew in Miami, Florida, and he worked Northridge Earthquake in Los Angeles, California. He worked 253 single family fires in Polk County, 2 gas well blowouts, and several hazardous situations all in Polk County. He did all of this work from 1990 until 2006, when he retired. For all this work, he received countless awards; he received the Polk County Humanitarian Award in 1994 and Polk Countian of the year award in 1995 from the Polk County Chamber of Commerce, Paul Harris Fellow Award in 1995 from the Livingston Rotary Club. He received the Southwest Star Award from the American Red Cross in 1999, and the Community Builder Award from the Trinity Masonic Lodge in 2001. He also served in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956.

The memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM, on Thursday, April 4, 2013 at First United Methodist Church of Livingston. Reverend James Frazier and Dr. Don Willis of First United Methodist Church will be officiating. Military Honors will be provided by VFW Honor Guard Post #8568.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to First United Methodist Church Helping Hands Program, South Polk County Volunteer Fire Department, or Polk County Red Cross.

Cochran Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Please sign our online guestbook at www.cochranfh.com