Kathie Lee Cooper

February 19, 1949 - January 16, 2022

Kathie Lee Cooper was born to Vonda Lee (Anderson) and Ernest Paul Simpson on February 19, 1949, in Locust Grove, Oklahoma. She went to be with the Lord on January 16th, 2022, in Muskogee, Oklahoma at the age of 72. She was the oldest of 5 children. She attended Locust Grove schools and later obtained her GED in 2009. She worked at Prestolite and a convenience store before entering the racehorse business as an owner and trainer. Kathie has two daughters, Denise Walls, and spouse Presley Walls of Ft. Gibson, OK and Rene Craig of Tahlequah. On June 10th, 1992, she married the love of her life, Frank Cooper. This marriage blessed her with 3 additional children Kevin Cooper (Kathy), Ray Cooper (Stefanie), Lisa Smith (Joe). Together they raised 14 grandkids, Ricky Cooper, James Cooper, Kevin Dewayne Cooper (Brittany) Dena Lamons (Eric), Colton Craig (Kayla), Jessica Tharp (Jeremy), Mark Squyres (Amy), Caitlyn Gregg (Jared), Andrew Cooper (JoCee), Jackson Smith, Jared Smith, Leah Smith, and Lexy Smith. They have 29 great grandkids and 2 on the way. Kathie’s greatest joy was being “Memaw” and raising her grandkids. Being self-employed, afforded her and Frankie the privilege of raising grandkids “at the barn.” Kathie also enjoyed working in her garden and flower beds. She was known to stop on the side of the road and dig up a flower to transplant to her yard. Kathie enjoyed weekly conversations with her family including her sister Irene, her aunt Mary Lou, and her aunt Charlotte. Kathie attended church and was part of the secret sisters at Four Corners Church before moving closer to home at Calvary Faith Church in Ft. Gibson. She had many friends, some who became family, through the racehorse business. She spent most of her time at the horse barn and horse track where her grandkids learned “statistics and how to gamble”. In her earlier years, she enjoyed bowling and she and Frank were a part of a bowling league for years. Kathie took pride in making a good meal. Most of the time, 3 meals a day were home cooked. Kathie is preceded in death by her parents, a sister Ernestine Young, a grandson Zachary Cooper, sisters-in-law Edna Faye Harris, Shirley Harris, and brothers-in-law Tincy Cooper, and Johnny Cooper. Those left to cherish her memories include her husband of the home, her daughters, grandkids, great grandkids, her brother Paul Simpson and wife Mona, sister Irene Rhodes and husband Phil, and brother Allen Simpson and wife Sarah as well as her brother-in-law Gary Young. She also leaves behind many nieces, nephews, friends, and extended family. LETTER TO GRANDMA FROM THE GRANDKIDS January 16, 2022 – For Grandma A quote for grandma (“memaw”) from her grandkids “In life we loved you dearly. In death we love you still. In our hearts you hold a place no one else will ever fill.” They say, “there’s no place like grandma’s house”, and that could not be truer. In fact, I always felt like that phrase was written just for her. My happiest childhood memories revolve around Grandma. I vividly remember spending weeks with her in the summer and on school breaks, always begging my mom to let me stay one more night and feeling so sad when I finally had to go home after 5+ days of being with her. If you knew her, you know her house was always spotless – dirty dishes never left unattended, laundry always caught up and floors clean enough to eat from. But her biggest attribute was the way she always made her grandkids and great grandkids feel full of unwavering love. Waking up at her house meant breakfast cooked just the way you liked, followed by a full day playing outside “helping” at the barn or in the garden, riding horses, mowing or any other task grandma needed to get done. After dinner, it was always Braum’s chocolate ice cream sitting in papa’s recliner, then popcorn drizzled with melted peanut butter and syrup – still two of my favorite nighttime snacks. She took us right along with her and never complained, always turning ordinary days into extraordinary memories. There is no love like grandmas, and I am forever grateful that God chose her to be mine.