I am 16 and have been for years.
It's simple to do if you live with no mirrors.
Norma Gene Coop wrote this short poem years ago and lived 98 years with wonder; optimism laced with reality, and a constant search for beauty in the world. Norma died on May 9th, 2026.
She was born in her parents' home in Monmouth, Illinois on July 29, 1927. Her father owned the local dime store and as a very young teen she traveled to Chicago with him on buying trips. Those trips - roaming the city while he worked and accompanying him to the best restaurants and theaters - made lifelong memories. She attended Monmouth College and after graduation, she set out for the mountains of Colorado in the car her father left her after his death. She taught 3rd grade in Littleton, Colorado and friends fixed her up with her future husband, Charles Mahlon Coop, a civil engineer. They were married in 1951 and remained together until Chuck died in 1992. They had four children, Cris Ellis, a teacher and the only girl, Mahlon, a writer and teacher, Len, a Ph.D. Entomologist and David, an auto mechanic. Norma and Chuck moved to Kansas City in the early 1950s because of the many opportunities for engineering, the schools, and the proximity between Illinois and Colorado.
While raising four children as a stay-at-home mother, Norma walked daily observing the sky, birds, and trees. She collected nutcrackers and paperweights and loved Van Gogh. She had many neighborhood friends and was known by many for her delicious Christmas cookies, as many as 13 kinds, delivered each year. She made a big Sunday breakfast every week, often served in a park. Though she excelled at motherhood, she did not always enjoy feeling 'trapped' at home with four young children and spent time writing poetry, listening to classical music, and pondering the wider world outside her windows. She encouraged her children to be individuals and sacrificed so each could pursue their interests. She is survived by three grandchildren, Tina Coop, Jeff Ellis, and Maria Polonchek, as well as seven great grandchildren.
After Chuck died and her four children were on their own, Norma moved to an apartment building with a small lake and spent time talking to the swans and ducks. She formed a friendship group there and participated in book club, study club, and a Monday night happy hour group. They drank mostly wine, though Norma preferred a Manhattan. She volunteered, dated, and continued to take a daily morning walk. Norma gave up her car, knowing her Macular Degeneration had progressed, and it wasn't safe for her or others. Norma traveled often with her sister, Florence Joyslin, and family. Cruises to Alaska, Canada, Hawaii, Europe, as well as the family staying in homes or cabins in Colorado, Oregon, the Ozarks, Utah or Arizona were among her favorites. As Norma moved further into her nineties, her world grew smaller, but her Monday night friends and family kept her busy and she made a huge Sunday breakfast for family until she moved into assisted living six months ago.
