Joe Irvin Cooper 1928–1998

Catalog ID p.1948 · Cite this page: njcoopers.com/p/1948/

Joe Irvin Cooper was born on 25 May 1928 in Stafford Station, Stafford Co., Kansas, the son of Thomas Joseph Cooper and Coy Isabel (Alexander) Cooper. He married twice: probably Jessie Elfleeda Walker (1949) and a spouse whose name is withheld (1952). He died on 18 Mar 1998 in Topeka, Shawnee Co., Kansas and was buried at Stafford Cemetery, Stafford, Stafford Co., Kansas. Four children are recorded.

Facts

Event	Date	Place / detail	Certainty	Sources
birth	25 May 1928	Stafford Station, Stafford Co., Kansas	certain	G.529, L.162
residence	1930	Stafford, Stafford Co., Kansas	certain
residence	1935	Stafford, Stafford Co., Kansas	certain	L.162
residence	1940	Stafford Township, Stafford Co., Kansas	certain
residence	1947	Manhattan, Riley Co., Kansas	certain	L.162
residence	Dec 1949	Japan (army station)	probable	J.240
residence	Mar 1951	South Korea	probable	B.106
residence	13 May 1952	Hays, Ellis Co., Kansas	certain	B.106
residence	Jun 1952	Ellis Co., Kansas	probable	J.242
residence	1 Mar 1956	Cimarron, Gray Co., Kansas	certain	E.13, J.239
residence	1958	Topeka, Shawnee Co., Kansas	probable	L.165
residence	1961	917 W 31, Topeka, Shawnee Co., Kansas	certain	E.14
residence	1963	Topeka, Shawnee Co., Kansas	probable	L.165
residence	to 1 Jul 1967	a two-storey house on a 200 by 300-foot tract inside Dornwood Park, southeast Topeka, Shawnee Co., Kansas	probable	J.597, J.598
residence	Mar 1967	a house and ground inside the new Dornwood Park, Topeka, Shawnee Co., Kansas	probable	J.597
residence	18 Jun 1967	Manhattan, Riley Co., Kansas	probable	L.165
residence	15 Mar 1998	Topeka, Shawnee Co., Kansas	certain
residence		2631 Maryland, Topeka, Shawnee Co., Kansas	probable	K.82
education		Graduated, Storm King Prep School, Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y.; attended Kansas State University; degree in political science, Fort Hays State University	certain	J.252
occupation	from 14 Jan 1947 to 30 Apr 1952	United States Army — Regular Army, service number RA17224578, Company A, 5th Cavalry Regiment; Sergeant First Class	certain	B.106
occupation	1952	Hays, Ellis Co., Kansas; Student	certain	B.106
occupation	Jun 1952	Ellis Co., Kansas; Candidate for register of deeds, Ellis Co., Kansas, on the Democratic ticket	probable	J.242
occupation	before 1957 (two years)	schoolteacher, Cimarron, Gray Co., Kansas	probable	J.252
occupation	between 1957 and 1961	executive assistant to the director of revenue, State of Kansas	probable	J.252
occupation	to 1971	courtroom deputy clerk, United States District Court (District of Kansas), Topeka	probable	J.252, J.599
occupation		Cimarron, Gray Co., Kansas; Taught school for two years	certain	J.252
occupation		Executive assistant to the director of revenue for the state of Kansas, during the George Docking administration	certain	J.252
occupation		Topeka, Shawnee Co., Kansas; Courtroom deputy clerk, until he retired in 1971	certain	J.252
death	18 Mar 1998	Topeka, Shawnee Co., Kansas	certain	J.252, G.529, L.162
burial		Stafford Cemetery, Stafford, Stafford Co., Kansas	certain	G.529

Family

Parents

Father Thomas Joseph Cooper 1875–1943 G.529
Mother Coy Isabel (Alexander) Cooper 1888–1937 G.529

Spouses

Jessie Elfleeda (Walker) Cooper probable
married 23 Dec 1949, Wichita, Sedgwick Co., Kansas
J.240
Living
married 18 Jul 1952, Hays, Ellis Co., Kansas
J.252, K.82

Siblings

Children

Living (4) E.13, E.14

Family tree

Solid lines and outlines: certain. Dashed: probable or weaker. Open the full tree (four generations)

In the documents

Every published document that names Joe Irvin Cooper, in date order, with what that document itself records.

Date	Document	Role	What it records
1947	I.206 yearbook 1947 yearbook of Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, Manhattan, Kansas — a group photograph whose printed caption names Joe I. Cooper ninth…	subject as "Joe I. Cooper"	residence: 1947, Manhattan, Riley Co., Kansas probable
1 Mar 1956	E.13 state census Kansas city census, "POPULATION, MARCH 1, 1956", Cimarron, Gray County — image 38 of 48, four consecutive Cooper lines (Joe I. 27, Harriet 27, Bruce 2, Alice 1)…	head as "Joe I. Cooper"	residence: 1 Mar 1956, Cimarron, Gray Co., Kansas
1961	E.14 state census Kansas city census, "POPULATION, 1961", Topeka, Shawnee County — image 4080 of 4489, six consecutive Cooper lines all at 917 W 31 (Joe I. 32, Harriet N. 32, Bru…	head as "COOPER JOE I"	residence: 1961, 917 W 31, Topeka, Shawnee Co., Kansas

16 further documents not published (they may name living people).

Still unknown, and where we have looked

Searches recorded

genealogybank 2026-10-27 · SIGNED IN (chris_2535). Newspaper archives, publication location Kansas, exact-phrase keyword "Joe I. Cooper", date range 01/01/1958 -...

Searched for: SIGNED IN (chris_2535). Newspaper archives, publication location Kansas, exact-phrase keyword "Joe I. Cooper", date range 01/01/1958 - 12/31/1997 (rgfromDate/rgtoDate/dateType=range) - his Topeka life, stopping short of the 1998 obituary so the result set is not swamped by it. The point of searching the FATHER's name is the SONS. [J.584] was found because a 1989 engagement notice calls Donald "son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe I. Cooper"; the same construction should recur in school, scouting, graduation and social items across twenty years. (link)

Result: 24 RESULTS, ALL TOPEKA, AND ONLY ONE WAS OPENED TONIGHT. THIS IS AN OPEN SEAM, NOT A FINISHED SEARCH - recorded as such so the count is never mistaken for a sweep. Dates, page 1 of 2: 28 Mar 1958 · 27 Dec 1960 · 30 Dec 1960 · 23 Jan 1963 · 21 Sep 1964 · 22 Dec 1965 · 6 Sep 1966 · 7 Mar 1967 · 14 Mar 1967 · 31 May 1971 · 15 Jul 1972 · 13 Jun 1973 · 20 Aug 1989 · 27 Aug 1989 (= [J.584], already held) · 3 Dec 1989. Nine more on page 2, not listed. OPENED: 15 July 1972, The Topeka Daily Capital, page 12 - a women's-page column of bridal showers. The viewer reports "0 matches found" for the phrase, but the guest list plainly carries Mrs. Joe I. Cooper, McFarland; between Mrs. Joseph Stark, Hiawatha and Mrs. Al Glotzbach, Silver Lake. (Read on the whole-page screen view, so the town is a reading to confirm on a crop, not a recorded value.) ALSO OPENED, AND IT IS A GEOGRAPHIC LEAD: 31 May 1971, The Topeka State Journal, page 13. The viewer again reports "0 matches found", and the page is a feature with a street photograph, headed: "From fighting 'city hall' to developing the baseball program, the Highland Park Booster Club's 25-Year hi[story] … linked closely to the development of Highland Park." The phrase is somewhere in a long article and was not located on this pass. Why it is worth returning to: Highland Park is a Topeka neighbourhood with its own high school, and a 25-year club history naming Joe I. Cooper would place this family in a specific part of the city - which is the first thing needed to find the brothers' schools, and through them their years and their classmates. Nothing is recorded as fact; the article has not been read. AND THAT IS A CAUTION, NOT A FIND. McFarland is in Wabaunsee County, about thirty miles west of Topeka, and [J.252] has this man living in Topeka from 1957. So either his wife Living Harriet is given a different town in a 1972 guest list, or there is a second Mr. and Mrs. Joe I. Cooper in these papers' circulation area - which would make every unopened hit in this seam ambiguous until it is settled. Nothing is adopted and the brothers' files are untouched. Resolving it is the first job when the seam is worked - see t1.

findagrave 2026-10-03 · Joe Cooper, b. 1928 +/- 1, d. 1998 +/- 1, any location (11 matches).

Searched for: Joe Cooper, b. 1928 +/- 1, d. 1998 +/- 1, any location (11 matches). (link)

Result: Only his own memorial 118830381 (Stafford Cemetery, Section H; 25 May 1928 - 18 Mar 1998) - already cited. Nothing new.

familysearch tree 2026-10-03 · Joe Cooper, b. 1927-1929, d. 1997-1999.

Searched for: Joe Cooper, b. 1927-1929, d. 1997-1999.

Result: Profile LRY9-5MR, Joe Irvin Cooper: b. 25 May 1928 Stafford KS; d. 15 March 1998 [sic] Topeka; parents Thomas Joseph Cooper and Coy Isabel Alexander; no spouse or children. The 15 March date is the Social Security Claims Index's; his obituary [J.252] gives 18 March. Nothing new.

ancestry all 2026-10-03 · Joe Irvin Cooper, b. 1928 +/- 1 Kansas, d. 1998 +/- 1, all collections (489 results).

Searched for: Joe Irvin Cooper, b. 1928 +/- 1 Kansas, d. 1998 +/- 1, all collections (489 results).

Result: 'Fisher/Frankel Family Tree' (parents Thomas Joseph and Coy Isabel; d. 18 Mar 1998 Topeka). Social Security Applications and Claims Index (b. 25 May 1928 Stafford Sta; d. 15 Mar 1998). Public member photos (1 people-tagged, 10 documents) - the yearbook crops already assessed in this file's Images section on 2026-09-06. Nothing new.

newspapers com 2026-10-03 · SIGNED IN. "Joe I. Cooper", Kansas papers, 1945-1998 (12 matches).

Searched for: SIGNED IN. "Joe I. Cooper", Kansas papers, 1945-1998 (12 matches).

Result: No obituary (the Topeka obituary is GenealogyBank's, [J.252]). Hits not opened: Manhattan Mercury 23 Sep 1946 p. 1 and Manhattan Republic 25 Sep 1946 p. 1 (his Kansas State years); Wichita Eagle 1949-1958, Parsons Sun 1957, Salina Journal 1952-1954 (possibly other men).

genealogybank 2026-10-03 · SIGNED IN (chris_2535). Joe Cooper, Kansas papers, keyword Stafford, 1945-1998 (14 results).

Searched for: SIGNED IN (chris_2535). Joe Cooper, Kansas papers, keyword Stafford, 1945-1998 (14 results).

Result: Topeka Capital-Journal 20 Mar 1998 = the obituary already held ([J.252]). Thirteen Topeka Daily Capital / State Journal items 1952-1973 not opened.

Documents

D.590 1880 US Federal Census, Polk Township, Taylor County, Iowa — page 16, ED 216, dwelling 109, family 114, lines 13–17 — the Edgar Cooper household of five (Edgar 33 and wife Alice 30; children Maud 9, Thomas J 5, Happy 2). Enumerated 9 June 1880.
I.206 1947 yearbook of Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, Manhattan, Kansas — a group photograph whose printed caption names Joe I. Cooper ninth of ten in the third row, together with four face crops that Ancestry's index attaches to the same name on other pages of the same volume.
E.13 Kansas city census, "POPULATION, MARCH 1, 1956", Cimarron, Gray County — image 38 of 48, four consecutive Cooper lines (Joe I. 27, Harriet 27, Bruce 2, Alice 1) followed by Earl Conder 15.
E.14 Kansas city census, "POPULATION, 1961", Topeka, Shawnee County — image 4080 of 4489, six consecutive Cooper lines all at 917 W 31 (Joe I. 32, Harriet N. 32, Bruce 7, Donald 4, Christopher 3, Alice 6); 30 inhabitants on the page.