Virgil W. Cooper

Virgil (Boze) W. Cooper, 91, of Banner County, died at his home in Banner County on Monday, September 8, 2014. Graveside memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, September 15, 2014 at the Oshkosh City Cemetery in Oshkosh, Nebraska with Pastor Ken Boston officiating. Friends may visit http://www.cantrellfh.com to view the obituary and leave condolences for the family. Memorials may be given to the VFW in Oshkosh. The services for Virgil have been entrusted to the Cantrell Funeral Home in Kimball.

Virgil (Boze) William Cooper was born in Oshkosh, Nebraska on November 21, 1922, the son of Jesse and Nellie (Atkinson) Cooper. He attended school in Oshkosh and graduated from the Oshkosh High School in 1940. After completing high school he worked as a foreman for the Eldred Ranch north of Oshkosh. He enlisted in the United States Army on April 27, 1944 and served his country during WWII. He received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his service in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater. He was honorably discharged on May 8, 1946. Virgil was married to Rosie Leeper in Oshkosh on December 7, 1946. The family lived in the Oshkosh area and Virgil farmed and ranched. Virgil was a mechanic and enjoyed fixing things for his family and friends. He built a lot of his own equipment that he used on the farm. The quality of his work was exceptional, and many of his friends had him build different things for them. He enjoyed fishing and hunting and also loved to square dance with his wife. He was very service oriented and would help anyone in need.

Survivors include his wife Rosie Cooper of banner County; his children Lilly Cooper of Ovid, CO., Thomas Cooper of Mason City, NE., Bob (Barbara) Cooper of Banner County, NE., and Roy Lynn (Deanne) Cooper of Oshkosh, NE; brother Donald Cooper of Manhattan, KS;; sisters Rosanna Nass of Sidney, NE., and Alice DeWitt of Oshkosh, NE; 15 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, 2 brothers and 2 sisters