March 28, 1931 – December 29, 2023
Wife of Rev. Dr. O. William “Bill” Cooper Jr., Ruth Paula Cooper passed away on December 29, 2023, in Fort Collins, Colorado. She was born to Reverand Henry and Anna Zimmermann on March 28, 1931 in the Hounan Provence of China. She and her family fled China when the government deported all Christians. Ruth and her sister, Hanna Rose, ended up in an orphanage in Germany during WWII while her parents ended up in Cuba for the duration of the war. Ruth and her sister fled the Nazi’s; traveled through Germany, France, and England and were reunited with their parents in the States through the USO. In June of 1953 she married Oscar William (Bill) Cooper, Jr. in Schooley’s Mountain, New Jersey.
She is survived by her two children, Dr. Ruth Mannschreck (husband The Reverand Dr. Jack) of Waterford, MI and Kiel Cooper (wife Tauna) of Marietta, Georgia. She is survived by six grandchildren (Joshua David, Caleb William, Reverand Jeremiah John (wife Sara), Benjamin Joseph, Sarah Marie (husband Jeff), and Jonathan Paul) and four great grandchildren (William Joseph, Amos Daniel, Ezra James, and Asher David). She was preceded in death by her husband, The Reverand Dr. Bill Cooper; her parents, Rev. Henry and Anna Zimmermann; her sister, Hanna Rose Zimmermann; her brother, Ernst Theodor Zimmermann; and her granddaughter, Chava Norah Cooper.
Ruth received her Bachelor of Arts from Nyack College and her Masters Degree from University of Michigan. She taught English, German and Psychology in Manchester and Pigeon, Michigan. She was a fiercely supportive presence during her husbands’ pastoral ministry here in the states and traveled and taught Old Testament, Ruth, Ester and Childrens Education Courses with him as he served seminaries in the Ukraine, Moscow, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Haiti.
Ruth always had a creative mind, particularly for writing and art. She wrote several short stories and illustrated them for her children when they were very young. She took up china painting in the early 1970’s and became an entrepreneur. Her company, Parrish Porcelain by Ruth, allowed her to paint and to teach painting until well into her eighties. During the course of her career, she became an International Master Porcelain Artist and traveled to Europe multiple times to teach professional porcelain artists in France (Limoges) and Germany (Meissen).
In 2017, Ruth wrote a young adult book, I Promise, based on her journey during WWII from Germany to the United States with her sister, Hanna Rose.
Her Memorial Service will be on Monday, January 8, 2024, at 10:30 am (Mtn time) at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 7755 Greenstone Trail, Fort Collins, CO 80525.
If you are unable to attend the service in person, we invite you to watch it by going to the church website at https://www.redeemerconnect.com/ and clicking on the “Watch Live” button. Or go directly to https://live.redeemerconnect.com/.
Last Updated on January 19, 2024