Shirley Cooper

On January 7, 2021, four-thousand souls died of COVID-19. Shirley E. (Monroe) Cooper was one of them. Our dear mother passed away at Baptist Rehabilitation Center , her place of residence for several years.

Shirley was born in Schenectady during the tumultuous years of the Great Depression on July 21, 1932. She was the third of four children, and though times were tough, she fondly remembered her childhood years. She talked about the man who walked up and down the street hollering “Rags!” as he collected old rags, papers, tin-foil balls, and scraps of string. She recalled how she and the other children would chase the Ice Man down the street, begging for scraps of ice to suck on, and she remembered Freihofer’s Horse and Wagon delivering delectable breads and pastries. Although she lived across the street from Draper Elementary school, she laughed about how she was always late to class.

Road trips to Canada dominated Shirley’s childhood and youth as her mother insisted on yearly pilgrimages to her birthplace, London, Ontario. The long trips with four children in cars without the modern features we enjoy today were surely uncomfortable, but Mom loved to relive those moments with her siblings whenever they got together to reminisce.

One of our most treasured pictures of Mom was taken in the early 1950s on a trip she and her family took to Florida. Mom is sitting on the back of an eight-foot alligator in the middle of an alligator pit full of the giant creatures. She has a broad smile, although she confessed to feeling a little nervous. Apparently 1950s alligators didn’t eat people!

Shirley graduated from Mont Pleasant High School and worked for the General Electric until she married Frank Cooper, her husband of forty-four years. They were lifelong members of Broadway and Fishers United Methodist Churches.

Shirley is survived by her children Debbie Hollingsworth, Cindy Mortka, and Robert Cooper (Samantha). She is also survived by her grandchildren: Margo and Lesley Hollingsworth; Ashley, Amanda, and John Mortka; Brian and Jared Cooper; and great-granddaughter Amy Bowden-Hollingsworth.

Shirley is preceded in death by her husband, Frank, her parents, Harold and Nettie Monroe, and her three siblings, Nancy Tymchyn, Bruce Monroe, and James Monroe.

This past year has been particularly difficult since we could not visit our mother due to COVID-19 restrictions. In lieu of flowers, we ask for donations to Catholic Charities. The care they provided by bringing meals and providing transportation to appointments extended the time Mom was able to live independently in her own home.

Just as when our mother entered the world, we find ourselves experiencing tumultuous times. We know she would wish for unity and kindness as we tend to our daily lives, and she would remind everyone to wear a mask. We will miss her.