Essie Genette Cooley, 102, of Pima Arizona was born on October 10, 1921, and went to her heavenly home on November 27, 2023.
She was born in Van Dale, Arkansas to James and Flossie Gaskin. She was the baby and only single child born to her parents who had two sets of twins: Eulah & Beulah and Earl & Pearl. She grew up on the river, but never learned to swim, however, she could walk a log and paddle a boat. She accepted the Lord when she was around 10 and her older sister, Beulah, baptized her in the river.
She met the love of her life, Charley Cooley, and married him at 15 years old. They were blessed with 6 children: Jerry, Maxine, Elaine, Joyce, Betty and Marlin.
She was a prayer warrior who lived through the Great Depression and her husband going off to fight in World War II, the loss of two precious daughters, Elaine and Maxine, and the loss of her beloved husband, Charley, of almost 60 years.
Left to cherish her memory are: her son, Jerry and his wife Terry; daughter, Joyce and her husband, Doyle; daughter, Betty and son, Marlin; and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services for Genette were conducted Monday, December 4, 2023, at 10:00 a.m., at Vining Funeral Home’s “Chapel of the Valley,” by Pastor Preston Clonts. Concluding services followed in the Safford Cemetery.
Online condolences may be offered at www.viningfuneralhome.com
Arrangements were entrusted to Vining Funeral Home
