Jeanne Marie Cooper.

On January 12, 2011, my grandma passed away.

Jeanne Marie Cooper was born February 14, 1922, in Waukon, Iowa. She attended St. Francis School of Nursing and Loyola University and received her RN in 1943. She enlisted as a registered nurse in the US Army in 1944 and was assigned to the 166th Field Hospital in the European Theater of Operations. She worked as an RN in Illinois, Colorado, California and St. Lawrence Mental Hospital in Lansing, Michigan. She had two daughters with her husband of 59 years.

My grandma was so much more than those facts. She was a fantastically funny woman. She told jokes in an Irish brogue. She was so very supportive of the people she loved. She could grow a beautiful garden and made the best strawberry jam in the world. She was beautiful and smart and strong. She believed in cocktail hours. I was her first grandchild… and being able to thank her for everything was one of the greatest, hardest moments of my life.

from June 2, 1951:

from my sister’s wedding in Mexico, holding on to my father, who gave her eulogy:

Because we were all together…and it was the next ‘big’ holiday, we celebrated their 60th anniversary in Mexico, even though they were celebrating their 58th anniversary that day:

Michigan:

My grandparents’ home…where they lived together for 44 years:

A photo of my aunt and mom; a family photo of my grandparents, mom and aunt; and a photo of my aunt and mom:

A photo of a photo of my grandma and me:

A photo from my grandparents’ wedding day and one from their fiftieth anniversary:

So, that’s where I’ve been. My apologies if it’s taken a bit longer to get back to you…and thank you for understanding.