What happened to James Cooley???

Question:I am trying to find out what happened to James Cooley - attended Fayette Ware High School in Somerville, TN - born in 2/11/74 died 5/4/00 ( I think) - in Tennessee - probably Somerville - close to Memphis - I can't find an obituary - cemetary listing - newspaper article - nothing!! I have paid for search after search. I have checked the SSA death index, I have checked the newspaper archives and I have checked the obit archives. Help! I just want to know what happened - i.e. how he died and where he is buried. Thanks!!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I am trying to find out what happened to James Cooley - attended Fayette Ware High School in Somerville, TN - born in 2/11/74 died 5/4/00 ( I think) - in Tennessee - probably Somerville - close to Memphis - I can't find an obituary - cemetary listing - newspaper article - nothing!! I have paid for search after search. I have checked the SSA death index, I have checked the newspaper archives and I have checked the obit archives. Help! I just want to know what happened - i.e. how he died and where he is buried. Thanks!!

AMES S COOLEY 11 Feb 197404 May 2000 (P)(72)(none specified)413-06-0761TennesseeSS-5 Letter
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Your dates are good, the issue is that the location of residence is not specified in the social security death index. It confirms that he got his ss card in Tenn which it seems you already know.
I find Peebles Fayette county funeral home in an old directory 901-465-3535.
From the wording of your question.. seems that you are relying on online sources, which are great..IF THEY HAVE your info. Online sources are not complete in any sense of the word.
One possible reason for lack of an obituary, James was young, and perhaps the cause of death was accident or suicide. Or, not everyone HAS an obituary, since those now seem to be for a fee. For courtesy reasons, suicides (if it was) are not published as such for the feelings of the family.
On the other hand, I did find the social security index entry. I have 25+ yrs of experience.. and trust me, there are many times that others can find what I have missed. Sometimes it is just "double checking".
My first step would be CALL or write this funeral home directly. If this is where family is, it is more likely he was there. It is not impossible he was cremated, hence there may be no cemetery listing.
edit-
http://www.wdbj.net/fayette/biblist/inde...
long list of resources for this county... but notice that many are book form, and also, that overall, they contain historical records. James is very recent.

Social Security Death Index
about James S. Cooley
Name: James S. Cooley
SSN: 413-06-0761
Born: 11 Feb 1974
Died: 4 May 2000
State (Year) SSN issued: Tennessee (1973 )

http://www.findagrave.com/

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi...

Hope this helps, I couldn't find an obituary for James sorry.

The high school either doesn't have a web site or the kids messed it up so badly that it doesn't come up in the top 40 Google hits. I was going to suggest ou go to the site, click on "Alumni" and see if his class had page. If it did, someone might know something. You can still call the school, or write them a letter in an envelope and ask if the class of 1992 has a reunion committee. If they do, the chair may know something, or may send out a monthly e-mail update or . . .