MARY ELIZABETH COOPER

Funeral service for the late Mary Elizabeth 'Beth’/ ‘Betty' Cooper, 93, Kempt Road, Richmond County, and Sydney, was held January 10 in St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church, Lower River Inhabitants. Burial was in the parish cemetery.

Mrs. Cooper died January 6, 2020.

Born in Sydney, she was a daughter of the late Bernard and Anastasia (Somers) Mason. She was an avid Toronto Maple Leafs fan which began when she was six years old, listening to Saturday night hockey games on the radio with her mother. She also enjoyed traveling to visit her children across Canada and internationally, dancing and live Celtic music. For many years, she was an active member of the Canadian Association for Community Living, the Riverdale Credit Union and the Port Hawkesbury Co-op. She was a long-time member of the parishes of St. Francis de Sales, St. Louis (CWL member and president), and St. Joseph, serving as a reader and Eucharistic minister and giving marriage courses. Educated in early life at Constantine School, Sydney Academy, and Holy Angels Convent, Sydney, St. Joseph's Convent, Mabou, and Normal College, Truro, she enjoyed playing school basketball and baseball, tennis and skating. She sang in St. Teresa's Church choirs, Sydney, and trained and performed with the Imperial Order of Daughters of the Empire, for radio broadcast, hospitals, and outdoor venues. Her early teaching years were in Millcreek, East Bay, and Blacketts Lake, substituting at West Mount, Sydney Forks, and Louisdale schools. She taught the first Special Education Class established in Richmond County, teaching for 17 years in Arichat, West Arichat, and Evanston. She loved teaching children with special needs and thrived on helping her students enjoy a rich array of life experiences. 

She is survived by two daughters, Bethalee, Rachael (Danny Neil); seven sons, Mark (Debra), Jamie (Brenda), Carl (Catherine), Brian (Sharon), Donald, Leo (Dorothy), Thomas; 13 grandchildren, Sam, Anna, Ben, Uriah, Oakley, Matthew, Daniel, Jessie, Clyde, Maria, Katrina, Jacob, Emily; 13 great-grandchildren, Riley, Avery, Brodie, Neela, Chase, Coen, Izzie, Kane, Dylan, Emma, Kaiya, Elijah, Dominic; two brothers, Frank (Lynne), Father James Mason.

She was predeceased by her husband who she married in 1949, Carl Mills Cooper; son, Michael; five siblings, Rose, Willie, Margaret (Peter), Ella (Marshal), Cecil (Marge); sister-in-law, Marguerite (Frank Mason).

Memorial donations may be made to Covenant House, Toronto, or In-patient Palliative Care Unit, St. Martha's Hospital Foundation, Antigonish.

Online condolences: www.haverstocks.com