Florence (pete) Cooper

Athens - Florence (Pete) Cooper, 88, of Athens, Georgia, died at home in the early morning hours of October 20, 2006.
She was born July 16, 1918, to Helmer and Marilyn Jordan Norbeck in Millbury, Massachusetts. During World War II Mrs. Cooper joined the United States Marine Corps and served proudly in the Quartermasterís Office at Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point MCAS in North Carolina. Thereafter, she was a homemaker and devoted mother.
Mrs. Cooper was preceded in death by her husband, Samuel W. Cooper, by his deeply-loved sister, Frances Ann Cooper Rosenthal, and by nephew Samuel Cooper Rosenthal, whom she adored. She was also predeceased by a sister and brother, Alice Norbeck Bebka and William Norbeck.
She is survived by a son, Samuel Lee Cooper of Rancho Mirage, California, and a daughter, Kathryn Cooper, of Athens, Georgia. Grandchildren are Jennifer Lee Russo in California, and Shanna Lee Merka and Linden Cooper Swallom in the Athens area. Great-granddaughters are Caitlin and Carlee Russo and Sophia Lee Merka. Her surviving brother and sister-in-law are Howard and Virginia Norbeck of Millbury, Massachusetts.
At her request, no memorial service is planned; in keeping with her generous nature, she donated her remains to be used for cadaver studies at the Medical College of Georgia. Memorial gifts may be made to the Georgia Museum of Art, 90 Carlton Street, Athens, GA, 30602.