www.chenal.com MARCH 2013

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4 Life in Chenal Life in Chenal 5

It was at ASU, and specifically in a Radio

and TV class, where Lesley met her future

husband, Tony. “I knew who he was, as we

had some classes together,” Lesley said. “I

was a junior and he was a senior. I was tak-

ing a TV directing class and the curriculum

included a special project. I asked him to

do the lighting on the show I had to write

and direct. In a subtle way, I tried to let him

know I liked him.”

It didn’t take long for Tony to realize Les-

ley was the girl for him. They started dating

in the fall of 1985. “Three months later he

asked me to marry him, but I declined,” Les-

ley said. “When he asked the first time, there

was no ring. Six months later he got the ring

and I said ‘yes.’”

While in college, Tony was very proud to

be a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon frater-

nity, which was one of the top fraternities on

campus at the time.

After he graduated, Tony worked for

Channel 38 TV while Lesley finished school.

He lived at home to pay for her ring and save

money to buy a house while working as the

art director of the TV station.

They married in July of 1987 after Lesley

finished college. Both were Radio and TV

majors and they moved to Little Rock.

“While looking for a job here, and after

a few employment opportunities, I landed a

job with Bruce Wesson, the premier graphic

designer in the Mid-South,” Lesley said. “I

worked as a production assistant and eventu-

ally rose to Production Manager. For nearly

eighteen years I worked for him and learned

the business. I loved the job and it allowed

me to have a great career and the schedule

was flexible enough for me to be a room

mom for my boys during their school years.

When he retired in 2007, I assumed the cli-

ent list and started my own business, Cooper

Design. Since then I’ve established my own

clientele in addition to serving past clients. I

am a full-fledged graphic designer now.”

Tony is a pharmaceutical sales repre-

sentative for AstraZeneca, specializing in

cardiovascular pharmaceuticals. He’s been

there for 15 years.

In 1999, Lesley and Tony built their

DuQuesne Place home. “The area was just

being developed,” Lesley said. “We had to

park the car at the bottom of the hill as there

was no road at the time. Our house was the

first of four houses on the street.”

Richard Harp was their builder and next-

door neighbor. “He’s a very good builder,”

Lesley said. “We’ve lived there since Decem-

ber of 1999. We chose the lot, picked out the

plans, with some modifications, and he built

a totally custom 2,200 square foot home

with four bedrooms for us. We couldn’t be

more pleased with the quality of our home.”

Tony and Lesley have two sons. Cory

is 19 and a sophomore at the University of

Arkansas, Fayetteville, on academic scholar-

ship. He’s majoring in Economics and is a

member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity (KA).

continued on page 6

Lesley Cooper grew up in St. Charles, Missouri, near St. Louis. She always had an interest in radio and television, even having a weekly radio show when she was a teen in the St. Louis area. To pursue a degree in Radio and Television, she researched the colleges with the highest rated degree programs. She found one and in 1983, Lesley became a student at Arkansas State University (ASU) in Jonesboro.

The Cooper FamilyROOTED IN THE WOODS OF CHENAL

BY ELLEN E. WITHERS

CUNNINGHAM PHOTOGRAPHY

Although they love vacations, make no mistake, the Cooper family loves their home in Chenal. “We’re long haul people,” Lesley said. “We plan to live here for the rest of our lives.”

6 Life in Chenal Life in Chenal 7

side with our neighbors. We’ve watched each

other’s children grow up and we remain close

to so many of them.”

“We’re lucky that Tony’s family lives in

Arkansas,” Lesley said. “We love being able to

see them often. He has two younger brothers

and I have two younger siblings, too. We have

three oldest children in our house.”

Lesley’s family loves to be together, but

with St. Charles farther away, it makes it hard-

er to coordinate everyone’s schedule. “We’re

all St. Louis Cardinals fans,” Lesley said. “My

father even has a brick with his name on it at

the new stadium.”

Tony grew up in Little Rock and graduated

from Hall High. He currently acts as the Boy

Scout Troop Charter Organization Represen-

tative for Troop 395, essentially the middle-

man between church and the troop. He also

plans Scout Sunday activities at the church.

“Tony and I both provided an incentive to

our boys to obtain their Eagle Scout,” Lesley

said. “We told them, ‘no wings, no wheels.’ It

was a great incentive to get Eagle before they’re

allowed to drive. Cory’s Eagle project was to

fix an erosion problem on the grounds of our

church. The Arkansas Game and Fish Com-

mission’s Stream Team helped him re-design

and change the landscape to stop the erosion.”

Lesley currently volunteers as a committee

co-chair for St. James UMC on their capital

campaign. She has served on many commit-

tees including two previous capital campaigns,

the Strategic Planning Team and has served on

the Church Council for the past two years. She

is also responsible for recruiting, training and

scheduling the acolytes at St. James.

Tony is a youth Sunday school teacher and

volunteers with the youth for other activities

as well. He has been a Cub Scout leader and

soccer coach in years past. This summer, he

and Lesley will act as chaperones for the youth

hand bell tour. “We call it the Interstate-40

tour,” Lesley said. “They charter a bus and

perform at assisted living centers, nursing

homes and churches. St. James actually has

three traveling choirs. I have to say our music

program at church is phenomenal.”

The Coopers enjoy traveling as a family,

too. “The boys have gone on a lot of mission

trips with their youth group,” Lesley said.

“One of our family’s favorite vacations is to

go to Drowsy Water Dude Ranch in Granby,

Colorado. We’ve been there twice as a family

and once, all 16 members of my family were

able to vacation there together. My parents ac-

tually took us to this same ranch when I was

16 years old. You’re assigned your own horse

for the week and you go on trail rides plus par-

ticipate in all sorts of fun activities like square

dancing and hayrides. I loved it then and I love

it now. I’m sure my boys would say it’s their

favorite vacation destination.”

At a Cancun resort vacation last March, the

Cooper family toured a Mayan village and zip

lined through the jungle. “I’m not sure what

this year’s vacation will be,” Lesley said. “It will

be entertaining and action-packed, I’m sure.”

Although they love vacations, make no mis-

take, the Cooper family loves their home in

Chenal. “We’re long haul people,” Lesley said.

“We plan to live here for the rest of our lives.” ■

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“Cory was a re-charter founding member

of KA and is currently the social chairman for

the fraternity,” Lesley said. “He’s a member of

StuMo, the Student Mobilization Ministry, on

campus. He’s also taken part in Kaleo Sum-

mer Ministries. He lives in Destin, Florida

during the summer and takes part in beach

evangelism. He also works full time while in

Destin and this year will be a leader with the

organization. He’s very devoted and involved

in his faith journey.”

Cory graduated from Central High School

with honors, including being an Advanced

Placement Scholar. He’s an Eagle Scout, plays

classical piano and has always been involved

at St. James United Methodist Church. He was

a member of their touring hand bell choirs and

was a Roll of Honor Acolyte. “He was always

a busy, busy, boy,” Lesley said. “We’re very

proud of him.”

Their younger son, Brett, is 14 and a fresh-

man at Central High School. Brett is a mem-

ber of Central High’s soccer team. “Brett has

played soccer since he was four years old,”

Lesley said. “He played for Pulaski Heights

Middle School as well the last two years and

usually plays a defensive role on the team.

He’s a big guy, nearly six feet tall and very

athletic. He also plays church league basket-

ball and is hoping to play football for Central

this Fall. He’s a great kicker so his interest in

football is understandable.”

Brett is also involved in Boy Scouts and is

working towards his Eagle Scout rank. He en-

joys playing drums and has been taking private

drum lessons. Like his older brother, Brett is an

academically gifted student, is a church acolyte,

tours with the travelling hand bell choirs, sings

in the church youth choir and is on the youth

leadership team at church. “We are so proud of

Brett as well,” Lesley said. “He’s a gifted stu-

dent, hard worker and all-around sweet guy.”

Teddy is the Cooper family dog. “This

eight year old Maltese thinks he’s in charge of

everybody and everyone in the neighborhood

knows him,” Lesley said. “He’s a great little

dog and is the neighborhood’s head squirrel

chaser. We had another Maltese that lived to

be 15 and a half before we got Teddy. He had

a high quality of life, just like Teddy does.”

There’s a lot of wildlife in Chenal that

makes good use of the Cooper land. “We love

watching nature,” Lesley said. “We’ve seen

a red fox in our yard, spotted deer and en-

joy the flying squirrels and ground squirrels.

Raccoons and possums have made an appear-

ance too, along with a multitude of interest-

ing birds, including falcons and bald eagles.”

To keep the feel of being in the country,

yet still within the city, they kept all the hard-

woods that were on their property initially.

They also have a green space that adds to their

wooded area. Tony, who is also a graphic art-

ist, built a beautiful deck onto their home. “To

accommodate the runoff from rain water, he

built a small bridge over a dry river bed in the

backyard,” Lesley said. “The bridge is named

the Samuel Atwill Bridge after a former neigh-

bor’s three year old son. Samuel knew we were

going to have a bridge on our property and

couldn’t wait to use it. When we ‘dedicated’

it for use, we had lots of fun by having a cer-

emony, complete with ribbon cutting. Samuel

was the one who cut the ribbon.”

A love of their neighbors is included in the

Cooper family enjoyment of living in Che-

nal. “We have really nice neighbors and most

have been here nearly as long as us,” Lesley

said. “Our kids loved growing up with nearby

friends. Once we had a hamster funeral and

the neighborhood kids came to the service.”

The Coopers host a block party every May

and invite families from 65 homes. “The resi-

dents of several streets come together to buy

pizzas, with a 5 dollar donation, and everyone

brings a treat,” Lesley said. “In addition to

the block party, we spend a lot of time out-

CUNNINGHAM PHOTOGRAPHY