Mary Cooper

Mary Cooper, (nee Iffrig), passed away after a long battle with Triple Negative Breast Cancer. She was born on October 23, 1959 to Albert and Alberta Iffrig and was raised in St. Peters, MO. surrounded by love. Mary graduated from Central Missouri State University with a degree in Dietetics. She moved to Chicago to work as a Registered Dietitian and met the love of her life, Jac Cooper at Loyola University Medical Center and they were married on November 10, 1984. Jac and Mary moved to Valparaiso, and raised four amazing children. Mary loved being a stay at home mom and spent every possible minute with her family. When her youngest child, Grace started high school, Mary found a new career that filled her with joy. She taught Pre-3 at Tiny Tim's Child Development Center for 13 years. She was able to have so much fun with these sweet and smart three year olds and was proud to watch them learn something new every single day. Mary was a member of St. Paul Catholic Church and a past president of the Oasis Club. All of her children attended St. Paul Catholic School and she happily volunteered as a scout leader, room mother and anything else that was needed. Jac and Mary thrilled that their oldest grandson Lucas, currently attends the school. Mary is survived by her husband, Jac, sons, Jac, (Alli), Charlie, (Alicia) and Grant, (Rebekah) and daughter Grace, (Nathan Welty). She is also survived by her precious grandchildren, Lucas, Andrew, Ella and Clark Cooper. Mary loved being a grandma and thanked God every day for the miracle gift of these grandbabies. She is also survived by her mother, Alberta Iffrig, sisters, Kathy (Tom Rothermich) and Nancy (Tom Brown), many nieces and nephews, and a circle of friends that enriched her life in so many ways. Mary was preceded in death by her father, Albert Iffrig and her mother-in-law Charlotte Cooper. Visitation will be held Monday, March 22, 2021, 4-8 PM at Bartholomew Funeral Home, 102 Monroe St, Valparaiso. Funeral Mass will be held Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at 10:00 AM at St. Paul Catholic Church, 1855 W. Harrison Blvd. Rev. Jeff Burton, Rev. Douglas Mayer, and Rev. Joseph Pawlowski officiating. Burial will be in St. Paul Cemetery, Valparaiso. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to St. Paul Catholic School Scholarship fund. www.bartholomewnewhard.com.