KATHLEEN COOPER / 1921-2014
KATHLEEN COOPER / 1921-2014 Kathleen Churchill Bruns Cooper, 92, passed away peacefully on April 27, 2014. Kathy was born in New York City on October 13, 1921, one of five children to Mary Thompson Bruns and Admiral Henry Frederick Bruns. Kathy first lived in Hawaii from 1928 to 1930 with her family. They returned to Hawaii in 1938. After graduating from Punahou in 1939, while at the University of Hawaii, she met a Naval Academy graduate, Francis Taylor Cooper (Bud) and on August 13, 1941, they were married. When Pearl Harbor was attacked four months later, Bud was on patrol in his submarine, the Pollack, and Kathy was with her parents in Pearl Harbor. Bud moved to another submarine, the Bluegill, to fight in the Pacific. During his absence, Kathy worked for the Women's Air Raid Defense (WARD) in the cave bunkers at Fort Shafter. In 1983, Kathy collaborated with three former WARD members to help research and write a book, Shuffleboard Pilots, about their work using radar to plot the movements of ships and airplanes into Hawaii during WWII. The book was finished in 1991 and sold at the Arizona War Memorial Book Shop. Kathy and Bud had eleven healthy children. Their beautiful house in Kailua was always open to their large family and many friends. One of Kathy's passions was tennis. Some of the members of her Kailua tennis group became lifelong friends. Kathy played tennis until her mid-seventies. Kathy was also a dedicated volunteer. Over the years, she helped at events for the Aulea Swim Team and served as correspondent for Punahou's class of 1939. A devout Catholic and member of St. Anthony's parish in Kailua, she was a Eucharistic and Homebound Minister, taking communion to the sick and infirm. She was also proud of her heritage, joining the Mayflower Society and serving on the board of The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in Hawaii in various capacities. Kathy's bright spirit put all who came in contact with her at ease. A model of generosity, unconditional love, and the power of forgiveness, she will be profoundly missed by all she leaves behind. Kathy was preceded to heaven by her beloved husband Bud and her beloved son Steven and is survived by ten children, Sally Hall (Dave), Susan Cooper, Ann Frazee, Robert Cooper (Gunn), Jean Nixon (Mike), Gail Stone Santantonio (Michael), William Cooper (Maje), Jane McCarthy (Bill), Peggy Crowell (Kaipo), and Terry Ronco (Chris), 26 grandchildren, and 26 great- grandchildren. The funeral mass will be at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Kailua on Saturday, May 10th at 10:30 a.m. with visitation at 9:30 a.m. Donations in Kathy's name may be made to Catholic Charities Hawaii or St. Francis Hospice Hawaii. Online condolences: www.oahumortuary.com
Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased
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