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Permanent LinkSenator Matt D. Cooney View All Years
MATT D. COONEY was born on a farm near Rickardsville, Dubuque County, Iowa, June 8, 1885, and died in Dubuque, Iowa, May 27, 1937. His parents were John and Elizabeth (Gandolfo) Cooney. His mother was a member of a prominent Italian family whose family seat, Gandolfo Castle, near Rome, is now the summer palace of Pope Pius XI. Mr. Cooney obtained his elementary education in the district schools of Dubuque County. He attended Columbia College, Dubuque; University of Iowa; and Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. He began the practice of law in Dubuque in 1912, forming a partnership with the late Allan J. Kane. This partnership continued until after Mr. Cooney was elected to the state senate in 1930. He served in the senate of the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth general assemblies. He was always prominent in civic and fraternal affairs in Dubuque and was a member of Knights of Columbus, Elks, Modern Woodmen and the American Legion. He was also a member of the national, state and county bar associations, and was equally prominent in Democratic state and national organizations. He was serving his first term as state senator when he was appointed legal member of the Board of Parole which position he occupied at the time of his death.