Cleo Cooper, 82, of Yoakum, Texas, went to be with the Lord on October 18, 2018, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born July 31, 1936, in Dewitt County to Arthur and Maudie Cooper. Cleo enjoyed growing up on the farm playing and working alongside his siblings. He developed a passion for football and was a member of the 1953 Yoakum High School football team that went to the Texas state playoffs. He graduated from Yoakum High School in 1954 and attended and played football for the University of Texas before going on to McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to play football and graduate. He then married and went to work for Lake Charles Pipe & Supply as a salesman. In 1975, he decided it was time to return to Yoakum where he bought the Gulf distributorship. He later bought Zaruba Chevrolet dealership from Robert Zaruba. He relocated the dealership to a larger location on West Gonzales Street where it became the very successful Cooper Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Buick, Pontiac dealership. He retired from the car business in 2010 but remained an active part of the Yoakum community. He was a member of Austin Street Baptist Church.

Cleo loved the outdoors and hunting with his friends. He had many trophy deer on display at his house and in the showroom at Cooper Chevrolet. He enjoyed hunting in South Texas, West Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. He had many hunting stories to tell. He was an integral part of the breakfast group that met at the H & H Café each morning during the week. He could always bring you up-to-date on the latest happenings around Yoakum from these morning meetings. He frequently made the trip to Luling to have BBQ lunch with friends and family at The City Market. He loved football – both playing the game in his younger days and watching the games on TV. He rarely missed a University of Texas or Dallas Cowboy game on TV, but if they were not playing, he would watch whatever teams were playing. Cleo also loved to play golf every Sunday at the Yoakum Golf Course.

Cleo married Kay O'Neill on June 28, 1974. They had "his" children, Lezlie and Lonnie, "her" children, Kim and Jimi Carol, and "their" children, Justin and Jessica. One of their favorite past-times was moving. He enjoyed buying and selling property so they lived in 19 different houses during their marriage. He always had a post office box since the postman could not keep up with their change of addresses. He loved his family deeply and was always teaching "life lessons" to his kids and grandkids. He and his grandson Luke rode around frequently in the Jeep checking on the cattle and looking at the deer. In the past couple of years, he and his brother Bobby went out several mornings a week in the Jeep reminiscing about the "good old days" and counting the cows in each pasture.

Cleo is survived by his wife Kay Cooper of Yoakum; brother Bobby (Linda) Cooper of Yoakum; sons, Lonnie (Polly) Cooper of Austin, and Justin (Alexis) Cooper of Cuero; daughters, Lezlie Cooper Price of Victoria, Jessica (Micah) Helweg of Yoakum, Kim Roesch (Tom) Powell of Giddings and Jimi Carol (Tony) Rohan of Yoakum; grandchildren, Zane Roesch, Victoria (Chris) Haltom, Deidra (Brian) Froebel, Rachel Rohan, Kate (Jared) Jaroszewski, Drew and Derrick Price, Leah (Emmett) Jimenez, Cash, Jaydie, Hope and Grace Cooper, Hunter (Mary Grace) Cooper, Carley Cooper, Luke and Keaton Helweg; great-grandchildren Bowen, Asher and Quinn Froebel,  Evan and Emma Jimenez, Finn and Hank Jaroszewski and Max Haltom; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Rayford and Kenneth Cooper, and his sisters Doris Routon and Darlene Adams and son-in-law Max Roesch.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Austin Street Baptist Church, American Cancer Society or Donor's choice.

Visitation will be Sunday, October 21, 2018, at Austin Street Baptist Church, 1308 East Gonzales Street, Yoakum, Texas, from 2:00-3:30 p.m. The funeral service will be immediately following the visitation time with Pastor Hollas Hoffman and Jerry Murray officiating. Burial will be at County Line Cemetery. Reception following the burial service at the Austin Street Baptist Church fellowship hall.

Pallbearers are his six grandsons: Drew Price, Derrick Price, Hunter Cooper, Zane Roesch, Cash Cooper, and Luke Helweg.

Freund Funeral Home, 361.275.2343.