U.S. Magistrate Judge John (“Jack”) Cooney (1932 – 2026)
By Joselyn Baez Urena (Intern, Hon. Stacie F. Beckerman)
Retired U.S. Magistrate Judge John “Jack” Cooney passed away on January 19, 2026, at his home in Medford, Oregon, just days before his ninety-fourth birthday. Judge Cooney served as a part-time magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court’s Medford Division from 1989 until 1993 (while continuing his local private law practice with Donald K. Denman), and as a full-time magistrate judge from 1993 until he retired from full-time service in 2007. He was the District of Oregon’s first magistrate judge to serve in Medford.
Judge Cooney’s successor, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Clarke, recalls Judge Cooney fondly “as a smart and thoughtful judge, but most of all as a fundamentally kind and decent person respected by everyone.” Clerk of Court Melissa Aubin recalls that “Judge Cooney served with distinction, drawing on his deep legal expertise, a dedication to excellence he developed as a professional baseball player, and a heart for service sparked during his upbringing as one of ten children.”
Judge Cooney was born in Sedalia, Missouri in January 1932. He attended Westminster College on a basketball scholarship before signing with the New York Giants baseball team in 1950. Judge Cooney initially played first base for the Class D Giants in the Far West League in Medford, where he met Eleanor McCabe. They married in 1952 and had five children, eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
After three seasons of professional baseball and various jobs in Medford, Jack graduated from Southern Oregon College in 1959. He moved to Salem with Eleanor to attend law school and received his law degree from Willamette University in 1962. Upon graduation, Jack returned to Medford to practice law and raise his family with Eleanor. He was active in his community, including serving as president of the local Rotary Club and as a member of the University Club and Rogue Valley Country Club.
Judge Cooney’s reflections on his life and judicial service are preserved in an oral history archived by the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society. When interviewed for his oral history in 2005, Judge Cooney reported maintaining a docket of 150-160 civil cases and working with two career law clerks, Win Thivel-Kellerman and Karen Gilbert. Judge Cooney reflected that “Oregon is very unique in its utilization of magistrate judges” and it was a “commendation to the district judges that they have always utilized the magistrate judges to the extent that they are able to under the law.” He explained his philosophy that “the people who come before you, whether they’re civil litigants or whether they’re people convicted of crimes, . . . they should garner a sense that you are fair, that you are treating them with dignity and treating them as an individual, and make them feel that the process itself is one of . . . firmness but fairness.” Judge Cooney ended his oral history interview by noting he was “extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve” the District of Oregon.
A funeral mass was held on January 24, 2026, at Medford’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Contributions in Judge Cooney’s memory may be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, 2424 North Pacific Highway, Medford, Oregon, 97501.