John Cooksey
John Charles Cooksey (August 20, 1941 – June 4, 2022) was an American ophthalmologist and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 5th congressional district from 1997 to 2003. Early life and education Cooksey was born in Alexandria in Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana. He graduated from La Salle High School in Olla in LaSalle Parish, where his father operated a sawmill. He attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and received his M.D. degree from the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans in 1966. In 1994, he received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. From 1967 until 1969, he served in the United States Air Force, where he was stationed in Texas and Thailand. He served in the Air Force Reserve from 1969 until 1972. Career Cooksey was elected to Congress in 1996 and represented Louisiana's Fifth District for three terms, traditionally based in the northeastern quadrant of the state about Monroe, but since reconfigured to reach deep into South Louisiana as well. Cooksey first won the seat by defeating Democratic state legislator Francis C. Thompson of Delhi in Richland Parish. Cooksey had edged