Jean O. Cooper

Jean O. Cooper of Wellfleet, died on March 16, at the age of 97. She was born and raised in Danbury CT. the daughter of Hamilton and Margarethe Orgleman. She was a graduate of Danbury State Teachers College (Western CT state University) She married William Cooper Sr. in the blizzard of 1947, and they spent their honeymoon in the Cooper family home in South Truro. Thus began their yearly trips to Cape Cod, until moving here permanently in 1967. Jean was a first grade teacher at the Wellfleet Elementary for 25 years, After retirement she delighted in running into her former students and keeping track of their lives, all of whom insisted on calling her Mrs. Cooper, even though she asked them to now call her Jean. Her primary focus in life was her family and friends. She loved holidays and parties, the more the merrier. She was an accomplished pianist who with a little prompting would sit down and play for guests to sing along. She was always up for a card game or two. She and Bill were a mainstay of the First Congregational Parish church during a few decades when attendance had dwindled to a only a dozen people, serving as treasurer and always balancing to the penny. The Coopers were also among a handful of volunteers who formed the Save the Lighthouse committee, when the National Park Service declared they didn’t have the funds to move it back from the edge of the dune. She was an active volunteer at the Truro Historical Society for many years and had done extensive research on the Cooper family roots in Truro, dating back to the early 1800s. After the death of her husband in 2007, she spent winters in Melbourne Beach, FL, where she also developed a close circle of friends, for lunches, bingo games and all around fun. Jean is survived by her son, William Cooper Jr, of Brewster, Marnie Cooper (husband Dr. Ralph Stocker), of Wellfleet, grandsons Timothy and Christopher Miller, and great-grandson Nathaniel Miller. She was predeceased by her daughter Karen Cooper. Visitation will be at Nickerson Funeral Home in Wellfleet from 3 – 5 PM, Friday, March 24. Funeral Services are Sat., March 25, First Congregational Church, Truro, at 11 AM. Burial will be held privately. Donations in her memory may be made to First Congregational Church, P.O Box 1300, Truro, MA 02666, or Wellfleet Council on Aging, 715 Old Kings Highway, Wellfleet, MA 02667. For online condolences, please visit www.nickersonfunerals.com