May 20, 1954 – October 18, 2020
Martha Louise Cooper, 66, passed away at her home in Sheridan surrounded by her loving family on Sunday morning, October 18, 2020, after a long and courageous battle with metastatic melanoma. Born in Huntington, W.V., on May 20, 1954, she was the daughter of the late Willard “Bud” Garrett and Celia Arbutice (Gilkerson) Manning.
She was a 1972 graduate of Holly High School in Holly, Mich., and attended Ivy Tech and Indiana University at Kokomo.
For 36 years, Martha worked for St. Vincent Hospitals, starting in medical records and quickly moved into a financial counselor position with the opening of the Carmel Hospital in the 1980s, a job that she was thoroughly devoted to before taking her retirement on June 30, 2020.
She attended Radiant Christian Church.
Martha was a hard worker and very dedicated to her career, but never lost sight of the need to relax and take care of herself. Some days she would take it easy and spend the afternoon working a puzzle, and other times she would find the nearest Legion Hall and take on all challengers at BINGO. Put a marker in her hand and a table full of cards in front of her, and it was on. Working in a hospital setting for all of those years, you would have thought she would have been vaccinated for most things that ail you, but somehow she managed to catch the travel bug and the shopping bug at the same time. Infected with both for many years, she loved hitting the open road in search new destinations and the shops that could be found along the way. Branson and Pigeon Forge were a couple of her favorite haunts, but when the holidays rolled around, Frankenmuth, Mich., was her spot for all things Christmas.
As much as she enjoyed her shopping, there was nothing more important to Martha than her family. Martha is survived by her son, Bryan David Roudebush, Sheridan; nieces, Dana Vanderkleed (Mike), Sheridan, and Heidi Peyton (Joe), Westfield; nephew, Jeremiah Davis, Anderson; sister, Sandra Lee Davis (David), Sheridan; and her feline BFF, Alley.
She was preceded in death by her parents; infant twins, Sherrie and Carrie; her nephew, Justin Davis; and by her husband, Terry Lynn Cooper, on April 9, 1986. She and Terry were married on June 30, 1984.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, October 23, 2020 at Kercheval Funeral Home, 306 E. 10th St., Sheridan, with visitation from noon until the time of service.
Burial will follow at Spencer Cemetery in Sheridan. Pastor Jim Kyle will be officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be presented to the American Cancer Society.
Condolences: KerchevalFuneralHome.com