Crawford Cooley, noted Marin rancher, dies at 96
Arthur Crawford Cooley, a prominent North Bay rancher and philanthropist, died at his home in northeast Marin. He was 96.
Mr. Cooley managed family ranches in Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino counties for more than 60 years.
Mr. Cooley was born in San Francisco in 1926. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and attended Stanford University, where his major was economics.
In 1959, he became a partner at the Draper, Gaither and Anderson venture capital firm and did investment work throughout his career.
Mr. Cooley became known for North Bay vineyard and ranch management.
His family ran Hacienda Wine Cellars, and Mr. Cooley managed the family-owned Oat Valley Farm in Cloverdale and Cooley Ranch outside Cloverdale.
Mr. Cooley once served as a director of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust.
Thomas Peters, retired president of the Marin Community Foundation, said he knew Mr. Cooley for more than 30 years and considered him “a true gentleman.”
“So many people knew him as an investor in business,” Peters said, “but he was truly an investor in philanthropy.”
Peters said he saw ”a rancher's perspective applied to philanthropy” in Mr. Cooley's approach to “planting seeds, keeping an eye on what factors would sustain those seeds and a longrange view to the value of doing so.”
The Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato credited Mr. Cooley with a crucial role in its foundation. He helped hire the first leadership team in 1999 and served as board chair for three consecutive terms.
“Crawford Cooley is part of the DNA of the Buck,” said Eric Verdin, the center's president and chief executive officer. “His entrepreneurial aspirations for the institute helped set us on the course we're following today. He was a true friend and we are grateful to have him as part of our legacy.”
Bill Long, chair of the Marin Open Space Trust board, said, “He was always open to allowing our hiking group to walk on his property and he was a supporter of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, and a very gracious gentleman.”
Cynthia Murray, a former county supervisor who heads the North Bay Leadership Council, said, “He and his wife were old Marin, the best of Marin. They were the people that really cherished the land and where they lived, and did everything they could to keep the community strong and preserve the best.”
Mr. Cooley died April 16. His wife, Jess Porter Cooley, died previously. They were married for 70 years.
Mr. Cooley is survived by his children, Janet Cooley Dilg, Nancy Cooley and Robert Cooley, and a large extended family.
A memorial event will be announced.