Ruth Ann COOPER Obituary (2024)

Ruth Ann Cooper (LeDuc) passed away on December 24, 2024 (Christmas Eve). She was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, on November 27, 1944, to her parents, Lydia and Leonard LeDuc. She was the third of six children and had a happy childhood, with memories of living in the house her dad helped build, community gardening, and summers at the lake house where they had no indoor plumbing. She loved the local, Leinenkugel's beer and was delighted to see it being sold in Washington in recent years. She moved to Denver, Colorado, shortly after graduating high school and worked for a local hospital, becoming a respiratory therapist. Her travels took her to San Diego, California, where she met the Navy man who would sweep her off her feet and become the love of her life, Joel Roy Cooper of Amsterdam, New York. The couple got married on December 15, 1973, and moved to Saratoga Springs, New York, where their first child, Kimberly Nicole, would be born in June, 1975. The Navy took the family multiple places over the next few years, and after Joel retired from 20 years of Navy service, to Yakima, Washington. In March 1979, the couple's second child, Jason Pieter, was born. The family would leave and return to Yakima several times in the following years but come to settle down in the Valley that Ruth eventually considered her home. Ruth was a devoted, mother and caretaker of her family. Once the children were in school full time, she took a job as a paraprofessional in the same school as the children attended. This work became her life's passion. With every move the family made, she found a position at a local elementary school to continue that work. She loved being able to help young children who came from difficult situations, find their footing and a path to success in life. She was visited many times by students after they graduated, thanking her for helping them through some of the most difficult times of their life and being a consistent presence they could rely on. Her favorite holiday was Christmas. She saved money out of every paycheck to make sure her children (and later grandchildren) would be showered with a mountain of presents on Christmas morning. She made multiple types of candy to give away to friends, family, and neighbors in the weeks leading up to Christmas, with peanut butter fudge, almond toffee, caramel turtles, and peanut brittle being some of the perennial favorites you could expect to find in the recycled cookie tin. So, even though the Christmas season was a rough one for the family she left behind, it is almost fitting that she was able to be re-united with the love of her life who passed away in December of 2022, just in time for Christmas morning. Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, three of her siblings, and her husband, Joel Roy Cooper (December 11, 2022). She is survived by two siblings, David LeDuc and Thomas LeDuc, her two children, Kimberly Rashell (Cooper), and Jason Cooper, her four grandchildren, Simon, Preston, Ryder, and Rylee, and several nieces and nephews. She was loved and will be greatly missed. Brookside Funeral Home is caring for the family. Memories and condolences may be shared at www.brooksidefuneral.com.