David F. Cooley

After a period of declining health, David Franklin Cooley died peacefully at his residence, The Summit, in Whitefield NH on August 20, 2025; he was 100 years old.

David was born November 12, 1924, in Springfield, MA. David was the oldest and only remaining child of Don and Florence (Mason) Cooley; he was predeceased by his three brothers, Chandler, Arnold, and John.

In his early years, David’s family moved to Sharon, VT and then Royalton, VT where David graduated high school in 1943. As a youth David played and then worked on his grandfather’s farm in Sharon; in high school he worked for farmer Frank Brown and at Tracy’s Garage in Sharon.

In 1944 David was drafted into the US Navy and worked as a photographer’s assistant on the Cruiser USS Los Angeles in the Pacific. Upon discharge from the Navy, David began a career with New England Telephone (later Nynex) and worked as a telephone installer and repairman in Burlington, VT. It was in Burlington that he met his wife, Lois Jane Jenkin; the couple married on June 3, 1950, and celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary this year. David and Lois raised five children, David, Carol, John, Sarah and Elizabeth. Sarah predeceased her father in 2008.

David remained with Nynex for 38 years until he retired as a Network Manager in 1984. Never one to be idle, in retirement David volunteered at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and installed LifeLines around the Upper Valley. Additionally, he was active with the Telephone Pioneers and served as the VT chapter President for several years.

David and Lois lived in six homes over the years and at each residence David had flourishing flowers and vegetable gardens. David was a keen photographer and had pictures published in Vermont Life and Yankee magazines. David also had an impressive wood shop and made countless bookcases and other pieces of furniture, picture frames, wooden puzzles and toys over decades; he especially enjoyed teaching woodworking skills to his grandchildren.

David loved to tell stories about his family’s life and self-published a book recounting his grandfather’s life on Beaver Meadow Road in Sharon in the early 20th century. 

David was a man of deep faith and was an active member and leader in churches wherever he lived, including Baptist churches in Brattleboro and Burlington, VT, and Whitefield, NH; United Methodist Church in White River Junction, VT; and West Lebanon Congregational Church.

David’s surviving family members include his wife, Lois, children: David (Nancy), Carol Peters, John (Sue) and Elizabeth Cooley (Stephen Buzzell). David was devoted to his 11 grandchildren: Timothy, Kristi, Andrew, Daniel, and Joshua (D. Cooley); John (Peters); Alec, Mei, and Jamilla (Buzzell); Thomas and Laura (J. Cooley) and 7 great grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for Saturday, October 11, 2025, at 11 AM, at the Whitefield, NH Community Baptist Church, with a reception to follow.