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Notes for Edward Wayne Cooley (1922-2013) m1 Mary D Konkol m2 Wendy Wykoff

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Submitted by michael_95073 Note added Sat Oct 4 03:46:04 2014 http://www.thonline.com/sports/other_sports/article_d429184b-e0f2-584b-9b0f-8da06123e490.html Sports briefs: Female athletics pioneer E. Wayne Cooley dies at 90 Posted: Sunday, May 12, 2013 12:00 am | Updated: 5:56 am, Sun May 12, 2013. TH NEWS SERVICES The name E. Wayne Cooley has become synonymous with girls' high school sports in Iowa. His vision and leadership is viewed by contemporaries as essential in advancement of the female athlete. The longtime Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Executive Secretary passed away Saturday at the age of 90. Edward Wayne Cooley was born in Mercer, Mo., on Sept. 16, 1922. He was united in marriage to Gertrude "Gerry" Konkol in 1944 and had two children, Craig and Denise. After Gerry's death in 1982, he married Wendy Wykoff in 1987. Dr. Cooley was raised Coon Rapids, Iowa. Dr. Cooley earned a collegiate degree from Buena Vista University and later received Honorary Doctorates from Morningside College and Buena Vista. A Commissioned Naval Officer during World War II, he returned to Iowa, coaching football and track at Nevada. In 1950, he served as an instructor for one year at Grinnell College and next served as Assistant to the President at Grinnell for three years. In 1954, Cooley accepted the assignment as Executive Secretary of the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union, which embraced one interscholastic activity at the time, basketball. In the following 48 years under Cooley's leadership until his 2002 retirement, the IGHSAU expanded to include track and field, cross country, softball, golf, swimming, tennis, volleyball and soccer, with many of those programs flourishing well before the implementation of Title IX legislation. During his tenure, the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union has been the nation's trailblazer in the development of girls' interscholastic athletic programs. A 1973 three-part Sports Illustrated cover story on the limited access girls had in athletics during the wake of the Title IX passage used Iowa and the IGHSAU as a model of proof to the viability of equality for girls and women in sport. Submitted by michael_95073 Note added Sat Oct 4 04:09:47 2014 http://www.ighsau.org/cooleybio.htm E. WAYNE COOLEY (1922-2013) The name E. Wayne Cooley has become synonymous with girls' high school sports in Iowa. His vision and leadership is viewed by contemporaries as essential in advancement of the female athlete. Edward Wayne Cooley was born in Mercer, Missouri on September 16, 1922 to Reverend O.E. and Mae Cooley. He was united in marriage to Gertrude “Gerry” Konkol in 1944 and had two children, Craig and Denise. After Gerry’s death in 1982, he married Wendy Wykoff in 1987. Dr. Cooley was raised in Coon Rapids, Iowa. Dr. Cooley earned a collegiate degree from Buena Vista University and later received Honorary Doctorates from Morningside College and Buena Vista. A Commissioned Naval Officer during World War II, he returned to Iowa, coaching football and track at Nevada. In 1950, he served as an instructor for one year at Grinnell College and next served as Assistant to the President at Grinnell for three years. In 1954, Cooley accepted the assignment as Executive Secretary of the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union, which embraced one interscholastic activity at the time, basketball. In the following 48 years under Cooley’s leadership until his 2002 retirement, the IGHSAU expanded to include track and field, cross country, softball, golf, swimming, tennis, volleyball and soccer, with many of those programs flourishing well before the implementation of Title IX legislation. During his tenure, the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union has been the nation's trailblazer in the development of girls' interscholastic athletic programs. A 1973 three-part Sports Illustrated cover story on the limited access girls had in athletics during the wake of the Title IX passage used Iowa and the IGHSAU as a model of proof to the viability of equality for girls and women in sport. With the success of all of Iowa's girls' programs, it is the popularity of the Iowa Girls' State Basketball Tournament that Cooley is most synonymous with. Called by contemporaries as "the P.T. Barnum of hoops", Cooley turned the six-day March tournament into one of Iowa's most beloved annual events. The tournament has been televised since 1951 and was seen in as many as nine states by 1968. In addition to outstanding basketball, the tournament is also famous for its brilliant entertainment shows at halftime and between games. The tournament's popularity and tremendous fan-following was featured in two different photo essays by Sports Illustrated in 1969 and 1988. The tournament has also been the subject of features stories by USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, ESPN and National Public Radio. In addition to his IGHSAU duties, Cooley also served as the Executive Vice President to the Iowa High School Speech Association, a position he held from 1963 to his retirement in 2002. Dr. Cooley was active in many other endeavors, both in athletics and in the community. He was a long standing member of the Drake Relays Executive Committee, a member of the Board of Directors of the Women's College Basketball Hall of Fame, a Director for three banking institutions, the Buena Vista College Board of Trustees and his family church. He has also served as a vice chairman for the Iowa Games and was Chairman of the Iowa Heart Association. He also served as National President of the United States Track and Field Federation, and was a major leader in resolving two decades of conflict over control of the nation's amateur track and field administration by successfully merging the two parties into the Athletics Congress of the United States. For his efforts, he was inducted into the United States Track and Field Federation's Hall of Fame. His efforts promoting and advancing girls high school basketball led to his induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. Dr. Cooley passed away Saturday, May 11, 2013 at the age of 90. Submitted by michael_95073 Note added Sat Oct 4 04:16:10 2014 http://www.radioonthego.com/content_detatils.php?sect=6&cont=3529 FORMER IGHSAU LEADER COOLEY PASSES AWAY 5/11/2013 - A national pioneer in girls' high school sports has passed away. Former Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union executive secretary E. Wayne Cooley died Saturday at the age of 90. Cooley was born in Mercer, Missouri and raised in Coon Rapids, Iowa, taking the top leadership role with the Girls' Union in 1954 and holding that post for 48 years. Cooley took over an organization that offered only basketball, and expanded it to include nine different sports before stepping down in 2002, with many of those sports flourishing before Title IX laws were passed in 1972. The IGHSAU even sanctioned championships in gymnastics, synchronized swimming and field hockey during the 1970s. Cooley is perhaps best known for his work with the Girls' Union's original sport, however, overseeing a six-player state tournament that was televised beginning in 1951. TV coverage expanded to as many as nine states in 1968. Cooley also served as a Vice Chairman for the Iowa Games, and was the national president of the United States Track and Field Federation. His efforts in girls' basketball led to his induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. Submitted by michael_95073 Note added Fri Mar 25 20:41:13 2022 http://stockert-sizemore.frontrunnerpro.com/book-of-memories/2191830/Cooley-Edward/obituary.php Obituary for Edward Wayne Cooley Ed W. Cooley of Flatwoods, WV, 65, was born on July 25, 1949 in Winston Salem, NC to the late E. R. “Rudolph” and Marjorie E. Bedsaul Cooley of Lambsburg, VA went home to be with the Lord on Friday, July 10, 2015, at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center, Clarksburg, WV. He is survived by his wife of forty years, Mary Weese Cooley, daughters; Jennifer (Mike) Singleton of Exchange, WV and Roberta “Flash” (Chris) Hudkins of Flatwoods, WV; grandchildren Shawn Singleton, Hannah Cooley, Stephanie Singleton and Justin Edward Hudkins; brother Bill (Judy) Cooley of Lambsburg, VA and lots of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Ed was an Army Veteran and stationed in Alaska during the Vietnam War. He was a member of the American Legion Post 33 and also served as the Finance Officer. He was a member of the Honor Guard, was the first Fire Chief of the Erbacon Volunteer Fire Department, Erbacon, WV and a former member of the Flatwoods Volunteer Fire Department. Ed and his wife, Mary, were the owners of the Cooley Lumber Company since 1976. He was also a former member of Lambsburg Christian Church, Lambsburg, VA, Flatwoods United Methodist Church, Flatwoods, WV and the Sunrise Community Church, Sutton, WV. In earlier years Ed helped his brother Bill who ran a modified race car. He helped his community in many ways. After he was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 he enjoyed camping and riding the side by side with his family and friends. He very much enjoyed all of his precious grandchildren of which the youngest was born on his birthday and named after him. Ed loved the Lord was always ready to sit down with anyone at any time and discuss the bible. He loved learning about the Lord and sharing his love for the Lord and the bible. Visitation will be held at the Stockert-Paletti Funeral Home, 378 Flatwoods Corner Road, Flatwoods, WV 26621 on Saturday, July 18, 2015 from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. with the funeral service following at 1:00 p.m. with the Reverend James R. Shaw officiating. Graveside rights will follow at the Mack Wayne Cemetery, Dennison Run Road, Cowen, WV, with full Military Honors being performed by the Braxton County American Legion Post 33 of Sutton, WV. Words of comfort and memories may be expressed to the family at stockert-paletti.com. The Stockert-Paletti Funeral Home of Flatwoods, WV is in charge of the arrangements for the Cooley family. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Edward Wayne Cooley, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.