BY JOE ROSSITER<\/span><\/p>\nFREE PRESS STAFF WRITER<\/p>\n
Safeguarding the rights of the aged, while ensuring that their golden years were rewarding ones, was a role attorney George Cooney Jr. steadfastly played throughout his career.<\/p>\n
Mr. Cooney, a private practice lawyer concentrating on elder law, estate planning and probate administration, died Saturday at his home in Ferndale after an extended battle with prostate cancer.<\/p>\n
He was 64.<\/p>\n
“As a watchdog for the elderly and infirm, he was concerned about people being treated properly,” said his youngest son, Cameron Cooney. “In his mind, old age shouldn’t be something to be feared, but rather revered.”<\/p>\n
Mr. Cooney started his law career with his father, George, at Cooney & Cooney in the Dime Building in Detroit. They practiced there for nearly two decades. He established his own law office in 1986, practicing for 20 years. He became a member of the law firm Mall Malisow & Cooney in Farmington Hills in 2006 until health concerns resulted in his retirement in April 2007.<\/p>\n
“He relished the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people and use his unique insights and knowledge of law to advocate for people who were in need,” said Sanford (Sandy) Mall, founder and senior partner of the Farmington Hills law firm.<\/p>\n
A Detroit native, Mr. Cooney graduated from U-D Jesuit High School in 1959 and attended the University of Notre Dame where he graduated as an English major in 1963. Three years later, he earned his law degree from the University of Michigan.<\/p>\n
Mr. Cooney was a member of the law faculty at Wayne State University for eight years He was a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the State Bar of Michigan in the spring.<\/p>\n
A lover of music and nature, Mr. Cooney played classical guitar and sang in the chorus with Michigan Opera Theater for several years.<\/p>\n
In addition to his son, survivors include his second wife of 23 years, Mary; sons Christopher, Daniel and Jonathan; four grandchildren; two brothers, and many nieces and nephews.<\/p>\n
A memorial service is at 11 a.m. Friday at St. John Episcopal Church, 26998 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak. Visitation will precede services at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Pleasant Prairie Cemetery in Spokane, Wash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My dad passed away Saturday, June 30th 2007. The Freep had a little write up on him. (text follows) George Cooney Jr.: Ferndale lawyer was a watchdog for the elderly July 3, 2007 BY JOE ROSSITER FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER Safeguarding the rights of the aged, while ensuring that their golden years were rewarding ones,… Continue reading George Cooney Jr.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75BYE-17","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":85,"url":"https:\/\/heartwoodcollective.com\/infolantern\/2006\/09\/06\/whos-that-guy-on-the-pfc-site\/","url_meta":{"origin":69,"position":0},"title":"Who’s that guy on the PFC site?","date":"September 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"The cute face on the People's Food Co-operative home page is none other than my brother Jon Cooney.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":164,"url":"https:\/\/heartwoodcollective.com\/infolantern\/2009\/11\/27\/northville-winery-crimson-dew\/","url_meta":{"origin":69,"position":1},"title":"Northville Winery Crimson Dew","date":"November 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"My brother Jon made the label for a new drink being produced by Northville Winery - which is housed in Parmenter's Northville Cider Mill.We recently had a bottle and it was surprisingly delicious.\u00a0 I'll be having more I hope.His longtime friend Rob helps run the winery, as well as the\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50,"url":"https:\/\/heartwoodcollective.com\/infolantern\/2008\/01\/18\/half-life-by-jen-phang-playing-at-sundance\/","url_meta":{"origin":69,"position":2},"title":"Half-Life, by Jen Phang, playing at Sundance","date":"January 18, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Artwork by Jon Cooney and rotoscoping by Chris Cooney are both appearing in the film, Half-Life, which will start showing this weekend at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. 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