LaVell Cooley photograph collection, 1920-1985

LaVell Irwin Cooley (1901-1980) was the son of Oscar Wood Cooley, manager of the Utah State cafeteria for many years. LaVell took up photography at an early age making many images for the Buzzer yearbooks. In 1925, after graduating with a degree in chemistry, he attended summer school and worked on his Masters Degree in Geology, which he earned in 1929. Cooley later became a research engineer in Long Beach, California where he worked with photomicrographic and high speed photography. In 1940 he was called to active duty with the Army; his first assignment was Camp Callan, LaJolla, California. LaVell held several command positions during World War II, and retired after becoming physically disabled. He and his wife settled in Los Altos, where he immediately built a darkroom and continued his photography for the rest of his life. He died in 1980.