Obituary -- Leland James Cooper

Leland James Cooper of Reno passed away February 13, 2020 at a retirement home in Elko. He was 78 years old. Leland was born and raised in Fallon and graduated from Churchill County High School in 1959. He played on the high school basketball team that year which won the state championship and was recently inducted into the Churchill County High School Sports Hall of Fame. Leland was a heavy equipment operator in road construction and was also an official for Local Operating Engineers No. 3 in Reno. He was preceded in death by his parents Leland Stanford Cooper and Eileen Cooper, longtime residents of Fallon. The father of four children, Leland was a family man and so enjoyed being with his children, grandchildren and great grandchild. His family life gave him great satisfaction. Leland liked nothing better than to get together with friends to reminisce about old times. He lived most of his life in the Reno-Sparks area where he was close to his family. Leland was active for many years in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and helped many people maintain sobriety.  With his work in AA he also befriended people who later assisted him. Leland leaves behind daughters, Jamie Cooper and Christa Cooper of Reno, son Sonny Cooper of Reno and daughter Brandy Rowley of Elko.  He is survived by five grandchildren: Lexi, Avery and Kade of Reno and Ronin and Takara of Elko, plus great grandchild Lila of Reno. He also is survived by brother Stan Cooper of Santa Fe, NM and sister Patricia Boden of Fallon. The family held a service on Friday, February 28, 2020 and there will be a celebration of life in April in Fallon that will follow, with a date to be announced. Leland will be buried in the Masonic section of Mount View Cemetery in Reno.       Never miss a meeting or community event – keep an eye on the community calendar at https://www.thefallonpost.org/events/ If you like what we’re doing, please support our effort to provide local, independent news and contribute to The Fallon Post, your online news source for all things Fallon.