Ann Cooper

1930 - 2015

Ann Phillips Cooper

November 6, 1930 - July 17, 2015

Ann was the daughter of Bert and Helen Lambing Phillips. She grew up in Piedmont and Oakland, graduating from Oakland Technical High School in 1948.

She and John Cooper were married in 1951, when they were Juniors at Cal Berkeley, where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega.

John's career moves in the Army and with Pacific Gas & Electric Company were adventurous and took them to Georgia, Washington state, Maryland, and Kensington, California before they settled in Moraga in 1970. Ann made her family's favorite foods, including lemon pudding, tapioca, and runny custard, on 19 different stoves over the years.

Ann loved family, friends, animals, flowers, mountains, seashores, and bible study. She generally held alternate viewpoints to the standard biblical interpretations, considering herself to be a "gleaner"; entitled to harvest ideas that have been dropped, overlooked, or growing outside the established field. She always looked for the compassionate viewpoint.

Her favorite memories included many summers at the family cabin at Lake Tahoe, as well as cold winter afternoons when children came to her house to use the player piano, make cookies, and work jigsaw puzzles on the dining room table. She usually had a hedge of daisies which she'd cut when neighborhood children wanted to take bouquets home to their Mommies.

Over the past few decades, she enjoyed traveling to the UK, France, Croatia, Austria, Germany, China, and numerous trips to Hawaii.

Ann's greatest memory was of a recent Thanksgiving dinner with seventeen family members in her home. The dinner table was stretched with card tables and as she looked at the scene, she saw that John's and her extended family included a diverse mix of races and religions, gay and straight. She felt she'd had a privileged peek at the world to come.

We will remember Ann for her big heart, warm smile, generous nature, and her unconditional love of her family near and far. She truly was a friend to all who knew her.

She leaves, for a little while, John, the love and center of her life, their four children, Ken Cooper (Karen, Modesto), Joyce Cooper (Nevada City), Ellen Fraser (David, Piedmont), and Tom Cooper (New York City), grandchildren; Sarah Cooper, John Cooper (Megan), Erik Cooper (Betty Jane), Lisa Brenner, Katie Fraser and Claire Fraser; great grandchildren Elizabeth Cooper, and Emma Cooper; her sister Mary Phillips, nephew Ray Stevens (Kim) and innumerable beloved relatives from Wales, Maryland, New York, Nevada and California.

A memorial service will be held at 1pm on Saturday, September 12, 2015 at Lafayette Orinda Presbyterian Church. Because of her love of the Hawaiian Islands and their serenity, you are welcome to honor that by wearing Aloha attire.

Donations may be made to Hospice of the East Bay, whose staff were so caring and helpful in Ann's last days. HOEB, 3470 Buskirk Avenue, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523.