Verna Mae Lewis Cooper Obituary (1935 - 2015)

Verna Mae Lewis Cooper, 79, of Decatur, IL gained her heavenly wings on Saturday, June 13, 2015 at Decatur Memorial Hospital surrounded by family and friends. Services to celebrate Verna's life will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2015 at Dawson & Wikoff West Wood Street Funeral Home. Visitation will be one hour prior to the services. Verna was born on July 16, 1935 in Decatur, IL to Charles A. Lewis and Ethel McCerren. She was a loving mother and grandmother. She was employed at Caterpiller for many years. After that she was employed at Shaw's Catering and Kmart before retiring. She was an avid Elvis Presley fan. She loved wrestling and gardening in the summer. Her smile was contagious and she had a heart of gold. She enjoyed spending time with her family and friends, especially on holidays. She is survived by her daughter: Pamela Robinson Armstrong; special son-in-law: Ricky "BO" Pirtle; grandchildren: Jamie (Keith) Robinson, Tammy Schaal Butler, Josh (Tonya) Schaal, B.J. (Tony) Schaal, Ashley (Chez) Robinson, Duane Brennan, Becky Brennan, Chris Forker and Cade (Kayla) Forker; Her very special neighbor and friend Becky Troxell; 19 great grandchildren and 9 great-great grandchildren; a host of friends that loved her dearly and called her "Granny!". She was preceded in death by her parents, daughter: Kathy Robinson Schaal, two sons: Robbie and Danny Robinson, two grandsons: Timmy Schaal and Jon Brennan, two great granddaughters: Tavon Douglas and Tanisha Schaal and on great grandson: Demetre Butler. The family would like to give a special thanks to Jamie Holmes, a nurse named Tressa and the rest of DMH ICU for providing passionate and comforting care to Verna during her final days. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family at www.dawson-wikoff.com.