Judith Cooper

Judith (Judy) Elaine Cooper, 79, daughter to the late John Walton Cooper and Matilda (Tillie) Byrom Cooper, passed away Thursday, August 29, 2024 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Judy was born in Newnan on February 12, 1945. Her birth was several months premature, and there were moments when her parents thought she would not survive. She was so tiny the hospital identification bracelet on her wrist would fit on her mother's ring finger. The people who knew Judy as an adult would not have been surprised that she survived. They knew her as a fighter and had a life force that would carry her through her 79 years.
Judy attended East Coweta High School. After graduation, she entered West Georgia College and later transferred to North Georgia College in Dahlonega, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She received a teaching certification from Georgia State University and began her teaching career at Tara Elementary in Morrow, Georgia. After she moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the mid-1960s, she completed her master's degree in education at Eastern New Mexico University and taught school at Santa Fe High School and Santa Fe VOTEC until she retired. She loved teaching and told wonderful stories about the young people she taught and the teachers who were her friends.
Judy played basketball in high school and tennis with her friends in Senoia during the summer months. When she met and married Kenneth Mitchell on January 1, 1984, who loved outdoor activities, they embarked on a life of fun-filled adventure. They loved to hike the canyons of the American southwest with their dogs and skied during the winter months when the "snow was good." She was an excellent skier and tennis player and sometimes a golfer. She successfully tried in-line skating and learned line dancing in her seventies, and she loved to dance. Kenneth was a sailor and taught her how to sail their boat on the lakes in New Mexico and Florida, and they loved to travel. She once told her family she would live on a boat if it was possible. They bought equipment for every sport. If a visitor to their home opened their hall closet, every piece of equipment they owned would spill out on the floor. It always created laughter whenever it happened, and everyone was thankful their boat would not fit in the closet.
Celebration of Judy's life would not be complete without mentioning her love for her family, friends in Senoia and surrounding areas, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque where she lived for over 40 years. Judy spent part of each summer in Senoia. She always said she had to see "green grass" after living in New Mexico for years. She was always there for her family, taking care of her mother and father when they needed her and hosting her nephew, Jason, for many summers when her sister had to travel for work. She lived in Santa Fe for over 40 years and always felt at home there, but she never forgot Senoia. She loved the people in both, treasured their friendship, and always looked forward to her time in both places. Judy also loved animals, especially her dogs Melanie, Sam, and Tilly, and almost any dog she met on the street. It was not unusual to see her car parked on the side of the road and her on the sidewalk petting a dog. She was what her generation called a "character." She laughed often, loved a good joke, and told most of them, and she lived a full and exciting life. She loved to have fun and would find every opportunity to do just that.
Judy was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Kenneth Mitchell. She is survived by her sister, Eleanor Lee; nephew, Jason Lee, and his children, Kayla and Nicholas Lee; stepson, Roger Mitchell and his wife Linda and their children Kaitlin and Tyler; and numerous cousins.
A graveside service will be held on Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 11:00 am at Senoia City Cemetery, Stallings Road, in Senoia with Hal Sewell officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org or to the Newnan-Coweta Humane Society, 608 US Hwy 29 N, 30263, www.nchsrescue.org.