Phyllis Janette (Fenimore) Cooper of Lake St. Louis, Missouri, age 101, passed away on August 17, 2021, at 11:18 PM Central Time. Phyllis was born on July 26, 1920, in a sod house, delivered by a midwife in LaJara, Colorado to parents Olive (Edythe) Osborne Fenimore and William Lee Fenimore.
When she was two years old, Phyllis’ family moved to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, the first of many locations across the country where Phyllis would reside. As a freshman at Scottsbluff High, at age 12 she ushered at the new Egyptian Theatre until her high school graduation in 1937. She then worked four years for the Bomgardner Motor Company.
At 16, Phyllis met Robert Douglas Cooper, a young man from Gering, just across the Platte River from Scottsbluff. They dated for five years and were married on December 25, 1941. “Bob” served four years in the Navy during World War II after which he became treasurer for Scottsbluff County, the youngest treasurer in Nebraska. Bob joined the Phillips 66 Company in 1955 and was transferred many times as the company expanded: to Denver, CO, to Greeley, CO, to Phoenix, AZ, and back to Denver, CO, to Westwood, MA, to Madison, NJ, to Atlanta, GA and, finally, to Phillips 66 headquarters in Bartlesville, OK.
Phyllis played a huge role in the success of each move and, at times, also worked as a bookkeeper. Bob retired in 1984, returning to Scottsbluff in 1990. They spent 20 winters in Arizona, primarily in Mesa, enjoying the weather, playing bridge and pool with friends, and exploring new crafts. Phyllis delighted in creating counted cross-stitch works of art for her family and friends, contributed her delicious recipes to the Osborn Family Cookbook (2000) and shared her love of gardening, plants and flowers wherever she lived. In April 2011, Bob and Phyllis moved to Lake St. Louis, Missouri to be closer to family. They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary December 25, 2011, just two days before Bob passed away on December 27, 2011. Recently on July 24, 2021, Phyllis enjoyed a wonderful gathering of friends and generations of family from across the country to celebrate her 101st birthday in O’Fallon, MO.
Phyllis is survived by sons Robert Douglas Cooper II, Mt. Airy, Georgia, William Bruce Cooper and wife Kendra, Reading, Massachusetts, and daughter Janette Faye (Cooper) Kulage and husband James, Foristell, MO; grandchildren Sara Cooper, Matthew Cooper and wife Audrey, Kenan Cooper, Conor Cooper and wife Colleen, Jennifer Craig and husband Bryan, Jessica Kulage, James Robert Kulage II and Jordan Kulage; eight great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Phyllis was predeceased by her husband and parents, her brothers James, William and Jack Fenimore, her sisters Marjorie Rubottom, Virginia “Jodene” Schafer, and spouses. Phyllis was the last survivor in her father’s generation, according to genealogy completed by cousin Clarence Burton in 2010.
In remembrance of Phyllis, brighten someone’s day with a gift of flowers or contribute to the charity of your choice in Phyllis’ name. Cremation has taken place and a graveside memorial service will be held for Phyllis and husband Bob, on a later date at West Lawn Cemetery, Gering, Nebraska through the Jolliffe Funeral Home in Scottsbluff, NE.
