In Loving Tribute to My Daddy

January 16, 1947-March 22, 2021
Gary “Dean” Cooper, age 74, resident of Tollesboro, Kentucky, died surrounded by family on March 22, 2021 in Maysville, Kentucky.  He was born on January 16, 1947 in Lewis County to the late Arthur and Georgia Cooper.

Dean was a devoted and loving husband, father, and grandfather who took great pride and joy in his children and grandchildren.

He spent his life connected to the land as a farmer and a logger. He was also a gifted mechanic. Never one for idle hands, he started restoring Case tractors in his retirement and always had several restorations in the works.

He is survived by his wife, Glenda, two daughters, T. L. (Loay), and Tonya (Charlie), three grandchildren, Kenisha (Tristan), Kaylee (Austin), and Tyler, and one great-grandson, Brayden.

He is also survived by six sisters, and a brother. He is preceded in death by two brothers.

If you’d like to plant a tree in Dean’s honor, please visit The Gifted Tree.


Daddy, thank you for making me the woman I am. You might not have always agreed with my choices, but you were always in my corner for better or worse. You taught me to stand up to the monsters in my closet myself instead of waiting for someone else to rescue me even though I sometimes still need your hand to hold!







T. L. Cooper is an author and poet whose work aims to empower and inspire through an exploration of the human condition. Her poems, short stories, articles, and essays have appeared online, in books, and in magazines. Her published books include a collection of short stories, Soaring Betrayal, her Silhouette Poetry Series, and a novel, All She Ever Wanted. She grew up on a farm in Tollesboro, Kentucky. She currently lives in Albany, Oregon with her husband and three cats.

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