LEESVILLE – Mrs. Melba Elaine Rodgers Cooper, loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother - age 87, of Leesville, South Carolina died August 27, 2015 after a brief illness. Melba, born on September 4, 1927, was the daughter of Bersheba Hall and Merso Rodgers of Fairview, South Carolina. She married Edmond Cooper on October 10, 1948 and they were married for almost 57 years until Ed’s death in 2005. Melba is survived by her brother Jimmie F. Rodgers and Ed’s sister Bernice Cooper Rowe, and Ed’s and Melba’s family of two children and their spouses, 7 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.
Melba and Ed have a son Ronald Edmond Cooper (married to Veva Richter), and a daughter Kathryn Faith Cooper Smith (married to Gregory Hugh Smith). Their grandchildren are Jennifer C. and Dustin Walters, Christopher Cooper (deceased), Regina S. and Shane C. Joiner, Christina S. and Daniel B. Winters, Katrina S. and Cory K. Critchley, Adina S. and Kevin Williams, Gregory H. M. and Margaret Kapp Smith, and Benjamin A. L. Smith. Their great-grandchildren upon Melba’s passing are Zachary, Mallory, Caroline and Will Joiner; Amelia Grace, Daniel and Cooper Winters; Bennett Critchley; and Cassidy, David, Kaleigh, Dustin and Devin Williams.
Melba worked for several years in Columbia, SC as an employee of what is now Wells Fargo Bank, and engaged in volunteer work whenever possible. Melba’s family, her volunteer work, and her Christian faith were the bedrocks of her life.
Melba spent the last nine years of her life in Fishkill, NY living with her daughter and son-in-law Kathy and Greg Smith. There she was an attendee at Fishkill Baptist Church and their Bible Study. In South Carolina Melba and Ed were members of St. Mark’s Methodist Church in Columbia, and later were members of Convent Baptist Church in Leesville, SC.
A celebration of Melba’s life will be held at the Wagener Chapel of Blizzard Funeral Home (163 South Main Street, Wagener, SC ) on September 4, 2015 (her 88th Birthday), from 11:00 A.M. to noon. Visitation will be held from 10 – 11 prior to the service. The interment service will be at the family’s plot in the cemetery of Pauline Church of Christ (on Route 178 in Fairview), 3036 Fairview Road, Leesville, SC. The Reverend Sammy Sanders will officiate.
The family asks that those wishing to send condolences make contributions in lieu of flowers to The Providence Hospitals Development Foundation, 2749 Laurel Street, Columbia, SC where Melba volunteered for many years and where she was befriended by several Sisters of Charity.
