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Cooper, Kathryn Ross
Kathryn Ross Cooper
9/3/1913 - 2/1/2012
Venice, Fla.
Mom was born in LuVerne, Iowa. On June 26, 1936, she married my father, Wayne Keith Cooper (a radiologist), who died in 2006 at the age of 95. They had 70 wonderful years together - raising their family in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and in retirement in Florida.
She received her BA from the University of Iowa, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa after attending Grinnell College for one year where she studied drawing and water color painting. She later studied life drawing and oil painting in graduate school at the University of Iowa School of Fine Arts.
In addition to being inducted into the National League of American Pen Woman, she won awards in many Iowa art shows during 1950s through the 1970s.
She exhibited at the National Water Color Show, the Iowa State Fair, Cedar Rapids Iowa Art Association (of which she served as chairman for over a year), Coe College and the Rotary traveling exhibit. Her paintings were featured in the Northwestern Bell Telephone calendar for 1969 and the Banc Florida calendar of 1991.
In 1972, she and Wayne retired to Sanibel, Fla., where she won the Best in Show and first in watercolor in the Sanibel Centennial Art Show in 1976. They also traveled the world for many years.
In addition to her artistic talents, she was an absolutely wonderful mother of three children, grandmother of four and great-grandmother of seven.
Her investment capabilities provided full college education for each of her three children.
A very intelligent, talented, patient, understanding and loving woman, she is survived by her son, John Ross Cooper in Texas; daughters, Janie Cooper Parsons (Jeff) in Venice, Fla., and Sue Anne Cooper in Springfield, Ore.; granddaughters, Jennifer Hartman (Florida), and Carolyn McCall (Mark) (Texas); and grandsons, John Paul Cooper (Texas) and John Hartman (Florida).
The family would like to express their appreciation to the staff at Jacaranda Trace in Venice.
Arrangements entrusted to Kays-Ponger & Uselton Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Venice, Fla.
Published Feb. 10, 2012 in The Gazette
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