HONOURING A FRIEND
PRSD says goodbye to trustee who passed
Before commencing Tuesday’s first public school board meeting of the new year, Prairie Rose School Division trustees took a moment to honour Foremost Many berries-Etzikom trustee Kathy Cooper, who passed away from cancer Aug. 29 at the age of 62.
Cooper was first elected as a trustee in 2004, and PRSD board chair Stuart Angle said she had an immediate impact.
“She was our board’s heart,” said Angle. “One of her favourite expressions was it is better to be kind than right. Another was individual families matter, and their circumstances matter.”
Angle said board members knew she was sick for several months but Cooper’s illness progressed faster than anyone expected.
“She never wanted any kind of limelight or major attention,” explained Angle, “and she certainly didn’t want the fact she was sick to influence anything on the board.”
Angle credited Cooper for being one of the main advocates of the board’s wellness approach for all PRSD students and families.
“She had a very strong voice on the board, and her extended voice included her role in the Public School Boards Association of Alberta. She also served many years with Children’s Services as a co-chair locally and provincially. She had a wide range of influence, and we are certainly going to miss all of that.”
Prior to the board meeting, fellow trustee Cathy Hogg placed a single rose at Cooper’s now vacant seat at the boardroom table in memory and gratitude.
“She was a beautiful person who cared passionately about kids, and about the public system,” said an emotional Hogg. “I will miss her very much ... She was an angel to children, and now she is an angel to us all.”
Hogg vowed to continue Cooper’s work if re-elected in October.
“Kathy took me under her wing as soon as I got here,” remembered Hogg. “She was my mentor, and she became a very dear friend. She is the one who introduced me to the Public School Boards Association of Alberta. She had a deep passion for the work which was being done, a passion which has become a passion of mine now.”
Cooper was born in Medicine Hat and grew up in Peigan coulee. She was incredibly proud of her Métis heritage and happily married to husband Allan for 45 years.