Obituary of Mildred Cooper

Words can’t fully capture the unique and amazing life Millie Cooper had, living independently, the way she chose in a beautiful little corner of Cuddy Mountain.  Millie Diana Cooper passed away unexpectedly of natural causes in her home January 16, 2022 in the place she most loved to be in the world. 

 

Millie was born on May 28, 1944 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was the second youngest of 7 children. After graduating high school she attended Cardinal Stritch College where she earned a degree in Nutrition and worked as a Registered Dietician.  In her twenties she came out West to visit her brother Tom and fell in love with the majestic mountains and moved to Idaho permanently.

 

Out west her life had many adventures.  After meeting and marrying Larry Bratcher they lived on Hitt Mountain in a 1 room shack while raising chickens, cows and sheep. She had a small flock of sheep that she would sing to and one day her flock of sheep got mixed up in a large herd traveling by. The shepherd apologized for her sheep getting mixed up in his and said it would be impossible to find them. She sang her sheep song and out came her little flock following her and she didn’t lose even one sheep to the amazement of the shepherd.

 

After going into labor with her first born she barely made it to the hospital due to the muddy March roads causing the pickup to get stuck.  She had to walk for miles until finding some neighbors who drove them to the hospital in Weiser. She did not have any more surviving children.

 

She and Larry moved over to Cuddy Mountain shortly after her daughter was born and built the log house that has been her home for over 45 years. She did a wonderful job raising her daughter in that home as a single mom.  The adventures took a slower pace over on Cuddy Mountain. In the early years she loved the farming life and made everything from scratch including butter and mayonnaise. She enjoyed seeing the changing of the seasons and watching wildlife with the occasional adventure of a bear or juvenile mountain lion being on her property. She found great joy in feeding wild birds.

 

Millie loved animals and had always wanted a dog growing up. She bought her first black lab named Shiloh when she was 27 years old. Since that time dogs have always been a part of her life and all her dogs have had wonderful lives getting “home cook’n” and going on long walks with big comfy dog beds to rest on. She was preceded in death by her beloved pets Shiloh, Zippy, Bo, Hotdog, Hobbs, Bud, Zeus, Clayton, Riley, Angel, Moose, Kinsey and Roscoe.  She is survived by Cocoa who is now being cared for by her grandson.

 

 

Millie loved reading and music and was an amazing cook. She has always been surrounded by books of all genres and especially loved poetry. One of her favorite poems was Moon Song by Mildred Plew Meigs. You could often find her cooking or baking something delicious with music playing in the background.  She loved to share her culinary creations with friends and family.

 

Friends and family were often drawn to Millie’s home where they could spend time with her surrounded by the scenic views and natural beauty of Cuddy Mountain.

 

She was preceded in death by her parents Mildred and Glenn Cooper, brother Lawrence Cooper, sister Marilyn Spero and her husband Bert, sister Edith DeBrue and her husband Tom, and brothers-in-law Dick Wutt and Ed Gallagher.  She is survived by sisters Dorothy Wutt and Phyllis Gallagher, brother Tom Cooper, many nieces and nephews and their families and her daughter Ellie Thrall and husband Troy, and her grandchildren Lance, Ryan, Maxwell and Juliet.

 

At Millie’s request she will be cremated and remain on Cuddy Mountain.  A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Condolences may be shared with the family at www.Lienkaemper-Thomason.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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