Doris Waltower Cooper was born on December 8, 1946, to Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey and Cora Lee Dixon Waltower in rural Waynesboro, Georgia. She departed this life on Thursday, July 14, 2016, in her home under the care of Heartland Hospice.

At an early age, Doris accepted Christ and became an active member of Botsford Baptist Church, rural Waynesboro, Georgia. Her formal education was received at Girard Elementary School, Gerard, Georgia, and Waynesboro High and Industrial School, Waynesboro, Georgia.

After moving to Paterson, NJ, she met and fell in love with a Georgia boy, Elder Martin Cooper III, and they became husband and wife on November 11, 1966. To this union were born five children whom they nurtured and loved dearly.

In 1971, Doris joined Jackson Temple C.O.G.I.C., Hackensack, NJ, Elder Linward Jackson, Pastor; in 1976 she joined Cooper True Holiness C.O.G.I.C., Flint, Mich., pastored by her husband, Elder Martin Cooper III; in 1981, she joined Pentecostal Temple C.O.G.I.C., Albany, GA, pastored by Mother Ella Street Davis; in 1994 she joined Monroe Street C.O.G.I.C., pastored by Elder Oscar Benton. In 2014, she became a member of Springhill Missionary Baptist Church, Jacksonville, FL, under the pastorate of Reverend Michael A. Jackson. Sister Cooper was a faithful attendant and was often sought out by younger church members for her pearls of wisdom.

Sister Cooper loved flowers, and had a green thumb so much so that she was able many times to revive plants that seemed doomed. Being around family always gave her joy. This woman of God will be missed by all who knew and loved her. Preceding her in death are her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey Waltower; three brothers, Ulysses, Leventer and Wallace Waltower; and the family’s beloved pet, Shiloh.

Left behind to cherish precious memories are her devoted husband of 49 ½ years, Reverend Martin Cooper III; children, Frank Waltower (Shemeka), Augusta, GA, Martin Cooper IV, Albany, GA, Michael Cooper (Jeanette), Jacksonville, FL, Felicia “Cat” Cooper, Jacksonville, FL, Dorcia “Henry” Soilberry (Dennis), Albany, GA, and Martina “Tina” Cooper, Jacksonville, FL; five sisters, Frankie Cooper (Frank), Paterson, NJ, Velma Jones (Louis), Augusta, GA, Virginia White, Augusta, GA, Edith Jones, Augusta, GA, and Katherine Riley (Rev. Leon), East Cleveland, OH; one brother, Lindsey Clint Waltower, Sacramento, CA; sisters-in-law, Edwina Williams, Riviera Beach, FL, Daisy Louise Isom, Patricia Ann Moses (Jonathan), Mary Hellen Coley, Jennie Mae Cooper, Iris Hart (Maurise) and JoAnn Cooper, all of Flint, MI; brothers-in-law, Frank Cooper (Frankie), Paterson, NJ, and Charles Edward Cooper (Riley), Albany, GA; nineteen grands; seven great grands; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and family friends, to include special friends, Bertha Johnson and Linda Faye Bonner, Albany, GA.

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