Kenneth Cooley

Kenneth Lane “Pepaw” Cooley left this life Saturday September 30, 2017 in Nashville, TN. He was 73 years old. He was born in Rives, TN on December 31, 1943 to the late Paul W. and Janie C. Cooley.He graduated from Rives High School in 1961. He entered the Air Force, serving for four years. He married Wilma Nelms Cooley on September 14, 1965. He retired from IBM in 1996 after 30 years of service. He later became the technology director of Perry County Schools. He finished his career in 2014 with the Department of Education with the State of Tennessee.Ken was preceded in death by his son, Kenneth Jr. and brother, Bill Cooley. He is survived by his wife of 52 years Wilma; son, Chad Cooley; daughter, Kayce (Brandon) Arney; grandchildren, Cameron Cooley, Taylor Cooley, Abby Cooley, Karlee Arney, Shae Arney and Brysen Arney; two great-grandsons, Colt Rose and Andrew Birk; mother-in-law, Mildred Nelms; two sisters, Polly Archie and Laura (Phil) Hidgon and brothers, Bob(Vickie), Pete(Colleen), Jerry (Selma), Joe (Mary) and Paul Gene.He was a member of Southern Hills Church of Christ and former deacon, who loved to cook for youth activities and fellowship meals.A celebration of Ken’s life will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, October 7, 2017 at Southern Hills Church of Christ. Visitation will be from 12:00 to 2:00.In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Ken's memory be made to the Ronald McDonald House at https://www.rmhc.org/donate.