Marba Lou Coomer

Marba Lou (Lou) Coomer passed away on October 24, 2024, in Morganton, North Carolina. She was born on February 20, 1936, in her grandmother’s cabin at a place once known as Goodin’s Crossroads in Adair County, Kentucky. Born seven weeks premature, she spent the first month of her life swaddled in a boot box, at a time when babies did not normally survive such early births, a testimony to her Cherokee grandmother’s skills as a midwife and healer. She was the daughter of Delta Goodin and Hollis Shepherd. In her early years of education, she attended a one-room school and graduated from Summerville High School in 1954 “with a 95% grade average,” as she was fond of reminding us.

She moved to Louisville soon thereafter, finding work as a unit clerk at St. Joseph’s hospital. Almost immediately, she met her roommate’s brother, Albert Delano Coomer. She often marveled about the fact that they grew up “fifteen miles apart as the crow flies,” but that they had to move all the way to Louisville to meet each other. Dad loved to tell the story of the first time they met. “She was a little bitty ol’ thing.” He always said. “She was holding a chicken leg and had a milk mustache.” They married in 1956 and remained married until Albert’s death in 2015.

Marba worked primarily as a homemaker, also providing childcare for a number of children over the years. In her later life, she became a prayer warrior for the 700 Club, praying and providing scriptural insights over the phone with people from all across the world, and continued that work for seven years. She held a lifelong love of her Christian faith and never wavered from the teachings she received as a child. She was a voracious reader and was known for her laughter, strong spirit, and love of solitude.

She is survived by her three children, Paula Coomer (Philip Cuevas) of Garfield, Washington, David Coomer (Deborah) of Lenoir, North Carolina, and Diana Coomer of Houston, Texas, her sisters Geneal Abrell (Charlie), grandchildren Gabe Hathaway (Suzi), David Hathaway (Katie), Ryan Coomer, Dominick DiCaprio (Marv), and six great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her mother, father, stepfather Gordon Stargel, brother Philip Stargel, and sisters Sue Loy and Wanda Burton.

The family would like to thank the kind caregivers at Grace Heights Health and Rehabilitation in Morganton, North Carolina, for loving and caring for our mother these past 8 years. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Alzheimer’s Association and the Arthritis Foundation.

A visitation for Marba will be held Saturday, November 2, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at Kraft Funeral Service, 2776 Charlestown Road, New Albany, Indiana 47150, followed by a funeral service at 1:00 PM.

Marba will be laid to rest in Kraft-Graceland Memorial Park, 2776 Charlestown Road, New Albany, Indiana 47150.