Anita “Yvonne” Cooper Shires was born on November 25, 1947 to Willie Lavoy Cooper and Gebhard Dale Cooper in Fort Worth, Texas, where she grew up with her sister, Dianne; as well as, a tight-knit group of cousins. After graduating from Paschal High School in 1965, she attended The University of Texas at Arlington to pursue the arts. Although art was always a thread in Yvonne’s life, she started working in 1969 as an executive assistant in the banking industry and worked for one man her entire career, Mr. Ron Steinhart. After being set up on a blind date, she quickly fell for the love of her life, Ralph Tannehill Shires, in 1977. They eloped in Las Vegas and traveled around the world during their 45 years of marriage. She opened her heart and her arms to his children, John, Kevin and Anne. In 1981, Jeffrey was born, making her world complete. She loved being a mother and a grandmother, and adored her time raising and nurturing the family they made.
Yvonne was preceded in death by her parents, Lavoy and Dale, and her sister, Dianne.
She is survived by her loving husband, Tan, her son, Jeffrey and his wife, Jenn, her son, John and his wife, Peggy, her son, Kevin and his wife, Amanda, and her daughter, Anne and her companion, Chris; and her grandchildren, Clark, Elyse, Austin, Foster, Sybil, Jackson, Jade and Joshua.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks that donations be made to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens and St. Jude on behalf of Yvonne Cooper Shires.