Obituary of Glen Cooper

Glen Elmer Cooper passed away near Lloydminster, AB on August 20, 2024 at the age of 71 years.

Glen is survived by: his loving wife, Dorothy Cooper; daughters, Brenda (Brad) Rieland, Sharlyn (Tony) Graham, Connie (Francis) Lavoie and Glenda (Ryan) Armstrong; grandchildren, Aleshia, Leah and Caitlyn Rieland, Brooke and Ethan Graham, Madison and Cameron Lavoie and Parker and Taylor Armstrong; brother, Dwayne (Cathy) Cooper; sisters in law, Doreen Cooper, Naomi (Dave) Broemeling; aunt, Kathie (David) Jack, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. 

Glen is predeceased by: his parents, Audrey and Ralph Cooper; brother, Barry Cooper; mother and father-in-law, Eileen and Colin Ball; and sister-in-law, Coleen Ball. 

The Celebration of Life for Glen will be conducted from Kitscoty Community Hall, Kitscoty, AB on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 at 11:00 am.

Donations in memory of Glen may be made to Kitscoty Community Hall, Heart and Stroke Foundation or Cross Cancer Institute.
 

By: Dean & Billi Miller

We are Dean and Billi Jean Miller, and it's our honour to have been asked to provide this eulogy for our friend and neighbour Glen Cooper, although we wish so badly it was something we didn't have to do.
His time was too short, but what's clear from gathering stories for this speech is that in his 71 years, Glen lived a wonderful life rich in experiences and meaningful relationships with his friends and his beloved family.

Glen was Ralph and Audrey Cooper's first son, born on August 1, 1953, in Lloydminster. His brother Barry followed on July 14, 1955, and then a new little brother came when Dwayne was born on April 14, 1958. The boys grew up with their parents on the farm south of Kitscoty.
In Dwayne's words, Glen was a tall, gangly little boy with large ears who lived a playful life as a farm boy – filled with typical farm-life memories that sometimes included "hiding cigarettes."
There was a bigger age gap between Dwayne and his two older brothers, so the playfulness between Glen and Barry sometimes turned to pranks and sometimes serious pranks picking on Dwayne. One came in the form of an air compressor incident, which I won't fully describe, but if you want to know more, ask Dwayne. Luckily, Dwayne wasn't seriously injured.
Glen played minor hockey as a goalie until the age of 16 and finished all the school he wanted by 1970. Then, he went home to feed the pigs.
In 1971, he went to Hinton as a Junior forest ranger for one summer. He was 18 and was able to go to the bar. After that, he again returned home to the farm.
In 1972, at a graduation dance - he met Dorothy Ball. Dwayne said he had a "shit-eating grin" when he came home after meeting her.
Glen had a trap line at the time and sold his furs in Edmonton to buy Dorothy an engagement ring.
On November 2, 1974 they were married at the Anglican Church in Lloydminster. Glen and Dorothy lived in Lloyd for one winter while Glen worked driving truck for Roberge hauling cattle and Dorothy worked as a Secretary for an insurance company.
In 1975, they moved to the farm yard they now call home and built a barn. They would farm while living in the Bachelor's house that existed there, which had no washroom, only an outhouse. They would bring two girls home there: Brenda, born in 1978, and Sharlyn, born in 1980.
In 1980, they decided it was time for a real washroom and built their current house. Ralph and Dwayne helped them. Dorothy and Glen would have two more girls to complete their family, Connie in 1982 and Glenda in 1984.
As a young dad, the kids and Dorothy say that Glen had to call "Grandma" over to change diapers if Dorothy wasn't home. Aside from that job that wasn't his favourite - his girls were everything to him. He was a caring dad who expressed himself through action.
The kids had a good and active childhood. They brought steers and calves home as members of 4H, and even for a time had rabbits – thanks to Heather Jack.
In fact, Heather recalls it was that incident that may have given him the nickname "Grumpy Glen" because he didn't want rabbits, and due to breeding they ended up with a whole lot of them.
The kids say their dad wasn't always the most patient teacher, and he often told them what to do rather than showing them with clear instructions. He may have been tested by the oldest, Brenda, but by the time Glenda was a teen – they said "she could do anything."
Over the years, they would enjoy family trips to Disneyland, a tent-trailer camping trip to Vancouver returning through the States, and skiing to Kinosoo Ridge.
He and Dorothy farmed together as partners in their mixed farming venture. They would have pigs, beef cattle and grain. Dorothy also had chickens, and they even tried Quinoa before its' time.
As years went on, Glen would provide for his family supplementing their farming income when needed with side jobs such as driving truck for Cliff James or ELD Trucking. Those years would give him valuable expertise and experience which Kenworth got to value in these last ten years.
"Uncle Glen" enjoyed his extended family and as they grew up and raised their families near each other, he loved bugging the kids. 'Grumpy Glen' was a fond term of endearment, and Dwayne and Cathy's children have always referred to him as the happiest grumpy uncle ever.
His nieces remember lots of laughs, great memories of camping trips, and stories of Uncle Glen's antics. The most talked-about one was the "dish pan throwing" incident. Glen's protective side came out when someone drove far too fast through a campground for his liking, and he threw a pan straight at the driver's side door to show them just how unhappy he was about it.
That describes another trait of Glen that so many of us admired. He stood up for what he believed. If he believed strongly in something – you knew it.
His niece Michelle said that she would always think of him when she had apple pie; he was the one who taught her how to put a slice of cheddar cheese on top.
Glen believed in being there for your community and neighbours. Over the years, he volunteered for boards like the United Grain Growers, as a President of the Earlie Hall, and as a member of the Kitscoty Hall board.
He enjoyed catching up with friends, neighbours and the latest "news" at PV Garage or the Wheatie in Kitscoty.
Ever since he was young, he would always extend help, or a visit, to people in the community who needed it. I know that Billi and I are grateful to have many pictures and memories of harvest meals in the field with Glen when he helped bring in years of harvests with the Miller family.
Glen had a special relationship with his Uncle Ernest Lang, especially after the death of his dad Ralph in 2005. Glen visited with Ernest frequently right up until his death in April of last year.
Glen and Dorothy have enjoyed almost 50 years of marriage together. They raised a beautiful family, and his family was his world. Sure, he had some qualities of a bit of a hot temper (like his dad), bull-headed and held strong opinions – but, ultimately he was protective of and loved his family.
Dorothy and their daughters said that Glen showed his love through his actions more than his words. Just one example was when Sharlyn was young, and Glen gave one of her 4H calves mouth-to-mouth to try to save it. Another way he demonstrated his love was when he instilled fear into the minds of his to-be sons-in-law when they got serious with his daughters. Brad found solace in just staying outside to rake leaves, and Tony said, "He truly just didn't come around much" in those early years with Sharlyn. Hahaha.
Glen may have met his match with Connie's husband, Francis Lavoie, however. Their relationship started off shaky in the early years when Francis made Glen think a bidet was installed in their washroom on one of his and Connie's weekend visits. Francis wasn't schooled on putting the toilet seat down like Glen had living in a house of girls. Glen woke up one night to go to the washroom, and went he sat down, his butt dipped into a cold toilet full of water.
Francis held his ground with Glen, too, when Glen tried to share his very opinionated thoughts on Quebec or unions. It was even more comical when Dwayne set him straight when he learned through genealogy research that they had some French background in them.
As we all know - Glen just liked to stir the pot. Glen's love for his family shone - especially when grandkids started coming. Glen's family and grandkids told us he "came to everything" they were involved with.
This was expressed through converting old corrals to sheep pens for Brenda's kids' 4H projects, going to Florida for cheer competitions (even though he didn't like cheer), countless hockey games and everything else that came with his grandchildren's busy schedules. Glen loved going to watch his grandkids in hockey, and hey – he got to see many of his friends there doing the very same thing.
Life was good.
Glen's kids and grandkids loved having fun with their dad and Grandpa. He used to threaten the grandkids that he'd "glue them to the chair" if they kept getting up before they were done eating.
Glenda enjoyed pulling a prank of her own on her dad when she called him with a prank recording asking him to pick up his dry cleaning. He asked numerous times what they were talking about, he didn't own anything that needed dry-cleaned. But, when the voice kept repeating their request, Glen continued getting increasingly more frustrated, finally expressing some explicatives and hanging up the phone.
Glenda felt it was fair after his prank when she was 14 or 15. She was at a party at Donovan McAllister's and she was waiting for a ride home from her dad for her curfew. She knew to watch for him so as not to make him wait, but somehow, he came in without her noticing. It was near Halloween time and Glen must have been at a party because he showed up in a vampire costume and humiliated Glenda.
One of Glen's granddaughter Aleshia's favourite memories was dragging Grandpa on the Harry Potter ride at Universal in Florida. The experience apparently didn't sit too well with poor Glen, and he had to rest for the remainder of the afternoon.
Glen and Dorothy seeded their last crop in 2013 and sold their equipment in 2014. The whole family went on a trip to Mexico in 2013 to celebrate the milestone. Glen apparently partied quite a bit - danced even. It was hard dragging him back to their room at night. This was trademark of Glen's, Dorothy told me. Apparently, once at a "Cow Patty Party" at Peter Green's, Glen refused to accept it was "time to go home." They kept opening the door for Glen to get in the car, and he'd just open the door on the other side and get right back out. He even rode the Buckin' Bull that night and had ripped jeans to prove it. (God, I wish I knew that Glen).
For the last ten years, Glen has driven for Kenworth out of Edmonton. Mike Desmarais and Bailey Doull shared some words about him for the family:
"Glen was loved and respected by all of us at Kenworth and all the places he shuttled trucks to. Glen worked as a shuttle driver for Kenworth for the last 12 years, and was affectionately known to many of us as "Cooper." One of the main places Glen would shuttle trucks from is in St. Paul. His truck made many miles to and from the Xtreme Oilfield shop, and they appreciated Glen's efforts very much and wanted to pass on their condolences. Glen was truly loved and respected by all of those who got to known him, both customers and staff.
Glen made many trips and put on countless miles in his time with us. We knew we could count on him. There wasn't a semi too big, weather too bad, or any other difficulty he couldn't handle. This included a snowfall in September driving back from Montreal or even getting stuck at the U.S. Seattle border for two days without the proper paperwork. His dedication, know-how, and years of experience always got him through. Even if we had to hear about it for a little while after.
Glen was a shuttle driver but those that got to work with him found out he was much more than just that. We found out he was also a fisherman, a world traveler, and most of all a dedicated and proud grandfather.
We miss him so much already and he will always be a part of the Kenworth family. From all of us at Kenworth so long until we meet again."
In Ralph Cooper's eulogy, Charlie Mauws described Ralph as "a proud farmer who loved to help his fellow neighbour." These qualities were definitely passed down to Glen.
I was touched by another story I read from Connie about her grandparents Ralph and Audrey that every time one of their grandchildren left home when they returned to the farm on weekends, they had to stop at Grandpa Ralph and Grandma Audrey's for a "care package." All 8 of their grandchildren did this. I asked what it was and they said it was baking. They said that Grandpa would stand back with a bit of a tear in his eye as he watched the grandkids walking away.
When Brenda’s daughter, Aleshia Rieland left a couple of weeks ago for a friend trip to BC to celebrate graduating high school – Grandpa Glen and Grandma Dorothy expressed the same heart-warming sadness when she left.
That story was so beautiful to me, so clearly showing the circle of lives well-lived.
Glen and Dorothy enjoyed strong and long friendships. They lived in community with, raised their children with, travelled with, and enjoyed watching their grandchildren play hockey and various sports with close friends like the Wrights (who are experiencing their own tragedy in these recent weeks), the Davidsons, the Millers, and the Mitchells, just to name a few.
They have shared a lifetime of memories, including trips to Panama, Hawaii, England, Germany, France and Italy, Costa Rica, Cuba, Vegas, an Alaska cruise, and more.
But, they enjoyed the simpler things too – like taking in years of Robbie Burns nights (where Glen outdid himself on haggus just to prove a point), or celebrations at the Earlie Hall. It was during events like these that some of Glen's traits of "pranking" would shine through.
One particular incident happened after a Halloween party decades ago. Glen decided to stop and welcome himself into the home of Daryl and Shirley Davidson one late night while he was dressed
up in a full-body costume. He stood at the end of their bed and just awkwardly stared at them. Shirley was beside herself startled and was less than impressed with Glen after that, I heard.
Like we mentioned, Glen enjoyed "stirring the pot." It was just silly things, really, after further reflection with his family. For example, when camping with Dwayne and his family, realizing Dwayne had an Eskimos mat, Glen just "had" to buy a Roughrider mat. Dorothy said he really didn't even care about the Riders.
The same goes for his insistence on cheering for the Calgary Flames simply because the majority of our region cheers for the Oilers.
He had the same strong passion for CASE farm equipment. We heard that when helping Craig Miller with his harvest, Glen went so far as to put a paper bag over his head while walking to get into Craig's John Deer combine. Glen said he didn't want to be seen in one.
Glen liked black licorice, fishing, eating fish for supper, eating fish for dinner, eating fish for breakfast, four days in a row driving Dorothy absolutely nuts, and spending time with friends and neighbours.
Glen and Dorothy have had a wonderful marriage that, this November, would have spanned 50 years.
The hole he's left in their lives will be immeasurable. Sure, in 50 years, he was a little stubborn and maddening at times, but his family and those who knew Glen best realized – that Glen's bull-headed, never-wrong, cranky traits – were really just a front for what was really important to him and what he wanted to say.
I think Brenda said it best when she said you could see his love and pride for his family so much stronger in these later years. In terms of their mom, Dorothy - Brenda said "he drove her crazy, but he was actually kinda gross mushy about her." He just didn't show it in the common romantic sense.
In closing, we should also mention that if any of you are going to follow up with Dwayne and ask what Barry and Glen did to him with the air compressor when Dwayne was six – you should also ask Dwayne about Glen's reaction when they were checking into a hotel in Dawson Creek one time, and the owner got the wrong impression of them and asked if they wanted their room by the night or the hour.
Glen loved his family and where he was from. He loved the life he lived with Dorothy, and being devoted to their grandkids. He loved helping and visiting with his neighbours, and his job driving for Kenworth. And, we are all lucky to have known him.
The thing I fell in love with most when I came to this community fifteen years ago, was the generations of families, neighbours and friendships. Coopers, you are one of those families. Glen’s stories will go on through all of us, and his memory and legacy will live on through you – his beautiful family.