COOPER, Ethelyn A. (1924-2018)

COOPER

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 1/29/2019 at 15:31:22

Ethelyn A. Cooper
(February 10, 1924 - July 27, 2018)

Lynn (Ethelyn) Ann Tracy Cooper passed away on July 27 in Cincinnati, Ohio after a long and beautiful life, for which she constantly expressed gratitude. All who knew Lynn found her to be kind, funny, warm, charming, elegant and vivacious. She will be greatly missed.
Lynn was born on February 10th, 1924 in Sisseton, South Dakota to Garnet and Gerald Tracy. Lynn’s mother, Garnet (Tracy) Kendall, who lived in Indianola, for many years, managed cafes and hotels throughout the Great Depression and, though they were difficult years, Lynn had a good education, a safe place to live and lovely clothing for dances and concerts.
Lynn graduated from Mason City High School where she enjoyed playing the cello in various ensembles. She then went on to Drake University where she met her beloved husband, James W. Cooper, who flirted mercilessly with her during a reportedly uninspiring history class.
While Jim was deployed in World War II, Lynn worked at Bankers’ Life Insurance Co. in Des Moines. While Jim was on leave in Washington state, after his ship, the USS Saratoga, had been struck by the Japanese forces, he wrote Lynn a five-page letter, asking her to come by train to Kansas City and marry him. That she did on April 18, 1945.
After the war, the couple lived in Pella, Iowa, and Jim finished his degree at Central College. During this time, their only child, daughter Patricia, was born. Many happy years followed, living in Pleasantville and Indianola, Iowa, Elgin, Illinois, and Hannibal, Missouri. In her later years, she moved to Ohio and enjoyed boat rides at her daughter and son-in-law’s lake home and cookouts on their patio. After her daughter Patsy’s death, she moved to Cincinnati to be with her granddaughter, and became a favorite resident at her senior living community.
She was preceded in death by her husband Jim Cooper and daughter Patricia Traster. She is survived by her son-in-law, Vernon Traster, grandson Marshall Traster, granddaughter Andrea (Rosenthal) Warnken, grandson-in-law Troy Warnken, great-granddaughters Eva and Mae Rosenthal, and many extended family members in North Carolina, Iowa, Colorado, and Hong Kong.
Memorial services will be held at 10:30am on October 20th, 2018 at the First United Methodist Church in Indianola. This memorial is provided by Overton Funeral Home, 501 West Ashland Ave., Indianola, Iowa, http://www.overtonfuneral.com/