Mary Alice Cooper

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Mary Alice Cooper, age 91, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, in Birmingham. She was born April 14, 1918, in Tulia, Texas, to Charles and Alice Poff. She spent her childhood in Happy, Texas, and graduated from Happy High School, followed by nurse's training in Amarillo, Texas. On May 30, 1937, she was married to William Hyde Cooper and was a member of the Church of Christ. She lived much of her adult life in Amarillo and Salina, Kan.

Her last employment was in Huntsville, where she worked on the Apollo Space Project for NASA in the computer department of Northrup. She was very devoted to her husband and children, liked to play the piano, was an excellent seamstress and did much needlework, quilting and gardening.

Her husband predeceased her. She is survived by four children, Charles W. Cooper and wife Winifred, of Birmingham, Sharon M. Prafka and husband George, of Edmond, Okla., Deanna L. Heath, of Overland Park, Kan., and Gerald L. Cooper, of Tecumseh, Kan.; 13 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.

We will all miss her sweet smile, the twinkle in her blue eyes and her uncanny sense of humor. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, at Griggs, Schooler, Gordon Funeral Home, Amarillo, followed by a graveside service and burial at 2 p.m. in Llano Cemetery, Amarillo.