The state’s Senior Citizen of the Year award belongs to 76-year-old Bob Cooley of St. Joseph. He was honored last week on the lawn of the state Capitol during Older Michiganians Day by the state’s Aging and Adult Services Agency, the Michigan Commission on Services to the Aging, and Consumers Energy. Cooley received a letter of congratulations from Governor Whitmer and a $1,000 check from Consumers Energy. He has been volunteering at the Marie Yeager Cancer Center since it opened in 2011 and was one of the first to sign up when Spectrum Health Lakeland put out the word of the need for people to help the nursing staff and greet patients at the information desk in the infusion center. Cooley takes three shifts a week and often fills in for others. He also volunteers at a soup kitchen, helps the Lions Club to set up an annual car show, mows public parks, and has researched and created directories to help people find their family members’ burial locations at cemeteries in Berrien County. He was nominated by Spectrum Health Lakeland’s volunteer coordinator for the award.
