LESTER J. COOLING

COOLING, KUHLMANN, KOPP, ROBERTS, WAGENER, MURRAY, LYNCH, STUMM

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 8/1/2003 at 14:21:55

Lester J. Cooling

Telegraph Herald - Tuesday, July 1, 2003

Lester J. Cooling, 88, a resident of Arlington Heights, Ill., for the past 30 years, formerly of Dubuque, died Sunday, June 29, 2003, at Northwest Community Healthcare Center.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Edna Catholic Church, Arlington Heights, with entombment in All Saints Mausoleum, Des Plaines, Ill. Friends may call from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Glueckert Funeral Home Ltd., Arlington Heights, and after 10 a.m. Thursday at the church.

He was born on Dec. 20, 1914, in Waterloo, Iowa. He grew up in Dubuque, and graduated from Loras College. He joined the Army Air Corps as a pilot and flight instructor in 1942. He was later assigned to the US Air Transport Command. He was awarded the European-Africa-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

At the end of World War II, he joined TWA as an international pilot. He joined the FAA as a principal operations inspector, serving in South Bend, St. Louis and Kansas City, retiring from the Great Lakes Regional Office after more than 50 years of government service.

Lester held a current FAA Flight Instructor's Certificate. His career is recognized on the Wall of Fame at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC.

He was an active member of St. Edna Parish, where he was an usher at the 8:15 a.m. Mass. He also was a wildlife supporter at Lake Arlington.

Surviving are his children, Jim (Ann) Cooling, of Kansas City, Mo., Judy (Walt) Kuhlmann, of St. Louis, Mo., Tom (Terri) Cooling, of Southbury, Conn., Carol (Chip) Cooling-Kopp, of Arlington Heights, and Kim (Andy) Roberts, of Memphis, Tenn.; grandchildren, Keith and Kristi Kuhlmann, Sara, Lisa, Catherine and James Cooling, Jason and Melissa Cooling, and Lauren, Olivia, Abbigayle and Ethan Roberts; sisters-in-law, Marian Wagener and Arlette Murray, both of Dubuque; a niece, Laurie Lynch, of Dubuque; many other nieces and nephews; and his faithful St. Bernard, Yogi.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 59 years, Bernadine (Stumm); and sisters, Ariel and Agnes.

Memorials may be sent to St. Edna Catholic Church, Arlington Heights.