Beverly Suffridge Cooper's Obituary
Beverly Suffridge Cooper, 87, of Fort Myers, passed away Monday, April 10, 2017. She was born February 25, 1930 in Oakland, CA to James A. and Georgia M. (Nutting) Suffridge. She retired to Fort Myers in 1973. Mrs. Cooper was a very accomplished lady. Following are her most notable achievements: she was the personal secretary to the Director of Communications (Herb Klein) at the White House during the Nixon administration, Charter member of the Myerlee Country Club, actively held real estate license from 1976 – 82, Director of Sales at the Sundial of Sanibel from 1977 – 80, Past Board Member and Secretary on the Board of Habitat for Humanity of Lee County, Inc., Past Board Member of the American Cancer Society, Chairman of the Patty Berg Charity Golf Classic from 1985 – 1995, Executive Vice-President on the Board of Directors at Myerlee Country Club from 1995- 96 and was Chairman of the Administration Committee and was President of the Board of Directors of Myerlee Country Club in the late ‘90s. She was also actively involved in Myerlee Country Club in the following capacities: Editor of Myerlee MEMOS where she prepared the roster of the Club Membership and Women’s Golf Association, prepared the bi-weekly menus for the dining room, prepared the brochures for club activities, prepared membership mailings (1994) and other various administrative documents necessary for the operation of the club. As a member of Cypress Lake United Methodist Church, she was the editor of the Chronicle, supervised the counters and chaired the annual Bazaar and Yard Sale. Beverly and Paul were Life Master Tournament Bridge players, enjoying many hours playing and teaching bridge, including on cruise ships. Beverly enjoyed designing and planting flower beds around their home, and she was an advocate for all animals, but had an especially soft spot for cats, which were part of her household family. Mrs. Cooper is survived by her son and his wife, Jim Osterling (Ann) of Fort Myers, her stepson Paul Cooper (Vikki) and stepdaughter Karen Bazzle (Bob); her sister, Carole Merkle (Kent) of Chestertown, MD, her grandchildren: Jeff and Mike Osterling, Desiree Cooper, and Chelsea Bazzle Billings, nephew Phillip Merkle and niece Melanie Sieber. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Paul A. Cooper in 2013. Funeral services will be conducted at 2:00 PM Wednesday, April 26, 2017 in the chapel of Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home. She will then be laid to rest with her dear husband Paul in Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Friends will be received from 1:00 PM until the time of the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: The Animal Refuge Center, N. Fort Myers FL (animalrefugecenter.com), or Hope Hospice Fort Myers, FL (hopehospice.org) Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, 1589 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers, FL 33907, 239-936-0555. Online condolences may be offered at: www.fortmyersmemorial.com.
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