Meredith Cooper Bernhardt

Meredith Phia Shackelford Cooper Bernhardt, 27, passed away December 21, 2010 at her home in Sandy Springs. She was an artist, animal lover, naturalist, and a devoted friend. She was an exquisite contradiction: tough and tender, sweet and strong, gutsy and gentle, bright and soft. intelligent and original. Such a beautiful person inside and out.

She was born May 5, 1983 in Birmingham, Alabama and grew up in Roswell, Georgia, attending Perimeter Christian School and Centennial High School, with college work at the Art Institute of Atlanta and Georgia State University. She is survived by her husband Michael Stephen Bernhardt, Jr, parents Carter Welch and EvaLeigh Shults Cooper, brother Stewart Welch Cooper and wife Jeanne Eagerton Cooper and their daughter Carleigh Anne, grandparents Virginia and Vincent Joiner of Douglasville and Oliver Cooper, Jr of Atlanta, along with loving aunts, uncles and cousins. We all miss her dearly. A service will be held at 1:00 PM Friday, December 31, 2010 at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, 4755 North Peachtree Road, Dunwoody, Georgia 30338. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are invited to St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church Sacred Space, www.stpat.net, or the Emergency Rescue Fund of the Atlanta Humane Society, http://atlantahumane.org.