Valda Cooper

[1] Cooper also served as the managing editor of the Farmington Daily Times during her 40-year reporting career.

[1] She worked as a staff member at the Borger Herald for nine years before joining the Associated Press' Bureau in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1943.

[1] The State Leigislature actually adjourned early for the evening so the couple could enjoy a honeymoon without worrying about reporting.

The couple moved to Durango, Colorado, before settling in Farmington, New Mexico, in 1950 due to his job transfer by the Southern Union Gas Company.

[1] Cooper joined the Farmington Daily Times in 1953 after moving to the area because of her husband's job transfer.

[2] By serving in this position, Cooper became the first woman managing editor of any daily newspaper in New Mexico.

[1] Cooper was a co-founder of the San Juan Community Concert Association as well as the Farmington chapter of the Beta Sigma Phi sorority.

[2] Cooper died in her sleep on April 12, 2008, at the age of 92 at her nursing home in Farmington, New Mexico.

She was the first woman to receive the New Mexico Sigma Delta Chi Journalism Fraternity's Dan Burrows Memorial Award, which is named for the former Albuquerque Tribune editor.

[1] Three years later, in 1987, Cooper was also named Outstanding Woman Leader at the New Mexico Governor's Regional Conference, which was held in Farmington.

)[1] The Farmington Chamber of Commerce Past Presidents' Committee named Cooper to its Historymakers Hall of Fame in 1995.