Elsie Cooper

Elsie Marie Morgan Cooper was born February 17, 1933, in rural Missouri, the youngest of four children born to Samuel, a carpenter, and Melissa, a homemaker. She was nicknamed “Mutt” by her family. While in high school, she went to the bank and acquired a loan to purchase some cows so she could make money by selling the milk. When she and John Cooper began dating, she would make him milk the cows for her before they went out on a date. She graduated from Granby High School in 1951, and she and John married the next week.

Elsie and John eventually moved to Wichita, Kansas, where she lived and worked while he fought in the Korean War. They adopted Beverly in 1959 and Terri in 1962. Elsie was a Girl Scout leader for each of the girls’ troops and joked that she knew how to make it rain by planning a camping trip. She was an accomplished seamstress and made many of her daughters’ clothes, including their wedding dresses. She also made many quilts for family members, as well as fabulous peach cobblers.

In 1970, Elsie began working for Electro-Mech, and began working for Beech a few years later, where she worked until she retired in 1996. Her favorite job at Beech was being an expediter, as it allowed her to talk to people in different departments. In her retirement, she joined a quilt club and a software club, many times hosting the clubs in her home. She enjoyed watching quilting videos and planning out the next quilt she was going to make.

Elsie died the morning of December 17, 2024, at the care home where she had spent the last few weeks. She is survived by her daughters Beverly and husband Dana Anderson, Terri and husband Mike Welch; grandchildren Laura (Drew) Spencer, Danielle (Kyle) Beltz, Tess Welch and Jillian Welch; and great-grandchildren Harrison Spencer and Camden Spencer.