Mary Louise was born on Feb. 23, 1924, at Ness City, Kan., to Nellie Florence McCubbin and Walter Harry Schamaun.

Mary Lou was the second of eight children. She had six sisters and one brother: Loy Pearl Holland of St. Joseph, Mo. (deceased), Mayme Lucille Amstuty (deceased), Ceola Faye Tischler of Temple, Texas, Nellie Maxine Moore of Aurora, Colo., Thelma Lee Spence (deceased), Lela Adele McQuinn, Kansas City, Kan., and Harry Duane Schamaun (deceased).

After the death of her father, her mother relocated to Fort Scott, Kan. in 1929. Mary Lou graduated from Fort Scott High School in 1942.

Mary Lou had a chance to go to Kansas City to work for Braniff Airways as a communicator in 1942. She had to learn Morse Code and lots of rules and regulations. She met her future husband in Kansas City during the war in 1943. They communicated via letters until he was shot down over Germany in September 1944. He was freed in June 1945. He made his way to Houston where Mary Lou had been transferred. It was a joyous time for Mary Lou as they were married June 30, 1945, in the same chapel where Bill received his wings in 1942.

Mary Lou resigned her job and they started driving cross country on Route 66 to meet his mother and family. Mary Lou had never been to the West Coast, so the different scenery was truly enjoyed.

Bill and Mary Lou’s first station was Enid, Okla. in 1945. Military orders then took them to Austin, Texas. Their daughter, Patti, was born in Austin. She passed away Aug. 13, 2000.

The next duty station was Tacoma, and then on to Tachikawa, Japan. Their son, Roland, was born in Japan. The next assignments were at Hamilton, Calif., and Novato, Calif., where the children started school. There and at Great Falls, Mont., the family enjoyed the “Rock Club,” then, on to the American Embassy in Karachi, Pakistan, where Bill was a diplomat for three years. All the family enjoyed everything there was to do.

While living in Pakistan, the family traveled to Athens, Greece, Turkey and Istanbul. There was so much old history that Mary Lou enjoyed seeing. She also attended a Hindu wedding in Bombay, India, for a friend’s brother.

At last, the couple was stationed back in Goldsboro, N.C., where her husband, William Roland Cooper, was with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and they moved to Arlington, Va. In 1963, it was time to retire and they moved back to Goldsboro.

Mary Lou said she missed traveling around the Middle East. She did get to go on a trip to Bern, Switzerland, where she went to the archives of Swiss people migrating to the U.S.A. It was very interesting for her as her grandfather immigrated to Chars, Switzerland, from Romania in the 1800s.

Mary Lou, for a while, missed traveling around. With three servants to take care of the children, she went to Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Germany, Italy, Khartoum, Egypt, India, Sudan and the Pacific Islands before flying back to the states to Goldsboro.

She was pre-deceased by her husband, Colonel William Roland Cooper, on Jan. 17, 1974. Mary Lou is survived by her son, Roland and his wife Leigh Ann on Whidbey; her granddaughter, Andrea Gail Jacobs Britt of Ashville, N.C.; great-granddaughter, Anna Britt, also of Ashville; and great-grandsons, Michael Paige Crumpler and Matthew David Crumpler of Mount Olive, N.C.

Mary Lou was a good Christian, belonging to the Baptist faith. She was baptized at the age of 12. She held her faith dear in her heart all her life.

A service will be held for Mary Lou at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 11, at Raleigh National Cemetery, Raleigh, N.C.