Betty Lou Cooper, 89, of Weldon, passed away 6:25 p.m. Friday (July 8, 2016) at Manor Court, Clinton.
The first child of Homer and Louise Cahill Short, Betty was born March 29, 1927, at her parents’ home in Wapella Township.
Her service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Calvert Funeral Home, Clinton, with J. Kent Hickerson officiating. Burial will follow at Mausoleum Park Cemetery, Clinton. Visitation will be from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Memorials may be directed to the First Christian Church, Clinton.
Betty had a wonderful childhood growing up on her parent’s farm which was located across the road from her doting grandparents.
A lifelong learner, Betty loved attending school at Progress Country School where she enjoyed helping the teacher with the younger students and was a county competitor in spelling contests. She attended Wapella High School where she played her clarinet, sang with various ensembles and was the valedictorian of her graduating class. After high school, Betty attended beauty school and owned a beauty shop in Heyworth.
On May 19, 1946, Betty married her high school sweetheart, Arthur E. Cooper, son of Dewey and Nellie Torbert Cooper, at Birkbeck Methodist Church in Birkbeck. Betty and Art moved to a home east of Wapella where they embarked on a lifetime of farming in DeWitt and McLean counties. They recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.
Betty and Art are the parents of one daughter, Cynthia Brown, Iowa Falls, Iowa, and one son, Bruce (Bonny) Cooper, rural Clinton.
Betty enjoyed attending and working in the Wapella Christian Church where she taught a Sunday school class for 20 years and established the church library. After the devastating tornado of 1968, Art and Betty moved to Weldon, and attended First Christian Church in Clinton.
Reading, performing and listening to music and traveling were some of Betty’s special interests. Betty had a natural talent for playing the piano by ear. It was a family tradition to take an annual car trip when the children lived at home. Later, Art and Betty traveled to western and northern Europe, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. They especially liked Hawaii. They spent over 20 winters in Sanibel, Fla., where they were often joined by their siblings.
Betty especially enjoyed entertaining and traveling with her grandchildren and nieces and nephews. When the grandchildren stayed with her, they looked forward to her daily adventures. She and Art took their grandchildren to Colorado, the Pacific Ocean, and the World's Fair in Seattle and Tennessee.
Betty is survived by her husband; children; sister, Lois (Merwin) Sutter, Heyworth; brothers, Don (Alicia) Short, Clinton, and Paul (Deb) Short, Lincoln; and sisters-in-law, Ruth Stone, Ponca City, Okla., and Bea Cooper, Media, Pa.
Betty was the grandmother of eight, Matthew (Brooke) Cooper, Clinton; Betsy (Travis) Hoffman, Maroa; Michael (Megan) Cooper, Las Vegas, Nev.; Timothy (Christy) Brown, New Haven, Conn.; Dana (Melinda) Brown, Austin, Texas; Jeremy Brown, Iowa Falls, Iowa; Kendra (Jason) Holland, Montara, Calif.; and Lindsay Brown, Pacifica, Calif.
She had 10 great-grandchildren, Cole Hoffman, Zion Hoffman, Jaxon Cooper, Wrigley Cooper, Owen Hunt, Fletcher Hunt, Harrison Holland, Elin Holland, Aubrey Cooper and Aurora Cooper.
Condolences may be made at www.calvertmemorial.com.
