Catherine Cooper

Cathy Cooper passed away from a sudden and brief illness. She went quietly to heaven, where she joins her beloved parents (Wayne and Jean Cooper), niece (Riley Olson) and nephew (Josh Olson) along with many of her pets: cats, dogs, and a horse. She collected animals the way she collected friends, who had varied and interesting adventures along with her.

Cathy was the first born of six siblings in Shiocton, Wisconsin. She spent her childhood living in both Montana and Wisconsin before graduating from high school in Iowa. Cathy along with the rest of the family developed a deep love for the beauty and majesty of Montana. She attended and graduated from the University of Montana and was able to live in France on a student exchange program for a semester. As an avid reader, Cathy read voraciously which included maintaining her language skills by reading newspapers and books in French.

Besides reading, Cathy loved to needlepoint gifts for friends and family. Additionally, Cathy loved to travel internationally. She also traveled to Vegas for sister weekends, and they enjoyed the local shows.

Cathy worked for Western Montana Clinic for over 30 years. She was a steadfast and committed employee, who had a great sense of humor and kindness that was shown to many. Cathy could also be just “a little bit sassy.”

Along with her commitment to her job in healthcare, Cathy also loved music. She played her clarinet in the Missoula City Band faithfully for years. Cathy was an aunt & great aunt and loved her nieces and nephews. They loved her can-do attitude and the many adventures they shared with her.

We feel our time with Cathy was too short, even though we had a lifetime to know her. She always had something up her sleeve and would never share all she knew, but you could tell from her grin or the twinkle in her eye that she kept just a little bit back and laughed about it to herself.

 A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 2, 2023, at 11 a.m. at the Garden City Funeral Home, 1705 Broadway, Missoula, MT 59808. The family has requested in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Humane Society of Western Montana.  Donations can be made in Cathy’s memory directly to http://myhswm.org/ or mail to the Humane Society of Western Montana, 5930 Hwy 93 South, Missoula MT 59804.

We love you and miss you. Praying for peace and thankful that you are at rest.

Bob, Jane, Dan, Mary and Mike