Mary Elizabeth ‘Beth/Betty’ Cooper
1926-2020
COOPER, Mary
Elizabeth (Beth/Betty) – Kempt Road,
Richmond County, and Sydney, passed away peacefully,
surrounded by family, on Monday, January 6, 2020. Beth was
known for her belief in and support of youth, her warm hospitality,
her love of country living, her beautiful handwriting and written
correspondence, and her passion for dancing and live Celtic music. She
was an avid Toronto Maple Leafs fan – a dedication that 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. Her two favourite places
were her home of Cape Breton and her ancestral homeland of
Newfoundland.
For many years, Beth 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, Beth 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. Beth’s early teaching years were in Millcreek, East
Bay, and Blacketts Lake, substituting at West Mount, Sydney
Forks, and Louisdale schools. Beth taught the first Special
Education Class established in Richmond County, teaching for 17 years
in Arichat, West Arichat, and Evanston. Beth loved teaching
children with special needs and thrived on helping her
students enjoy a rich array of life experiences. She formed strong
and lasting relationships with her students, their families,
and communities, and always held a very special place in her
heart for ‘her children’, treasuring how much she learned from
them.
Beth was born in Sydney to the late Bernard and Anastasia
(Somers) Mason. She was predeceased by her loving husband, Carl Mills
Cooper (married in 1949), her son, Michael, siblings, Rose, Willie,
Margaret (Peter), Ella (Marshal), and Cecil (Marge), and sister-in-law
Marguerite (Frank Mason). She is survived by her daughters, Bethalee
and Rachael (Danny Neil), and her sons, Mark (Debra), Jamie (Brenda),
Carl (Catherine), Brian (Sharon), Donald, Leo (Dorothy), and Thomas;
brothers, Frank (Lynne) and Fr. James Mason; by 13 grandchildren: Sam,
Anna, Ben, Uriah, Oakley, Matthew, Daniel, Jessie, Clyde, Maria,
Katrina, Jacob, and Emily; and by 13 great-grandchildren Riley, Avery,
Brodie, Neela, Chase, Coen, Izzie, Kane, Dylan, Emma, Kaiya, Elijah,
and Dominic, all of whom brought much joy to her life.
Visitation will be in Dennis Haverstock Funeral Home, Port
Hawkesbury, from 2pm to 8pm on Thursday Jan. 9, 2020. Beth’s
funeral Mass will take place on Friday Jan. 10, 2020 at 11am from St.
Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church, Lower River Inhabitants, with
burial in the cemetery, and reception following at Vincent McCarthy
Hall, Lower River. Donations can be made to Covenant House, Toronto,
or In-patient Palliative Care Unit, St. Martha’s Hospital Foundation,
Antigonish. Words of comfort may be forwarded to the family at www.haverstocks.com
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Mary Elizabeth ‘BethBetty’ Cooper 19262020..
Dennis Haverstocks funeral homes
Death notice for the town of: Port-Hawkesbury, Province: Nova Scotia