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- Durango Herald
October 3, 2004
Bernice "Bernie" Toonen Cooper, who worked as a nurse in Durango, died at her ranch east of Bayfield on Monday, Sept. 15, 2003. She died of natural causes at the age of 90, her family said.
She was born over a grocery store in Appleton, Wis., on June 13, 1913, the daughter of Katherine (Sommerhalder) Toonen and Joseph Toonen. After the death of her father when she was 3, the family moved to Long Beach, Calif., where Mrs. Cooper grew up swimming, dancing and working at her aunt?s soda fountain. In 1934, Mrs. Cooper graduated as a registered nurse from Los Angeles County Hospital. Later she carried out postgraduate study in obstetrics and surgical nursing. Mrs. Cooper spent 40 years in nursing. She was head nurse at Durango?s Community Hospital, later the Gable House at the corner of East Fifth Avenue and Eighth Street.
She married Edward Harry Cate in California and they had one daughter, Derylin. The couple divorced in 1940. Mrs. Cooper and her daughter moved to Bayfield in 1942. There she married Charles B. "Mick" Cooper. Mr. Cooper adopted Derylin, and he built a family house east of Bayfield. The Coopers lived there for 52 years until Mr. Cooper?s death in 1994.
When Mrs. Cooper was in nursing, water, laundry and all medical supplies had to be carried to the top of the building, and open fires heated the wards. Dr. Sam Calloway described Mrs. Cooper as the "best nurse in Durango."
She enjoyed dancing, movies and movie stars, politics, crocheting, the study of American Indian culture and shoes. Her greatest passions were her love for her husband and her family.
She is survived by her daughter, Derylin Ludwig of Salt Lake City, Utah; her grandchildren, Katherine Elliott of Bayfield, Julie Kelly of Bayfield and Stephen Ludwig of Salt Lake City; her great grandchildren; and her nephews and nieces.
Burial will be at Pine River Cemetery in Bayfield, on County Road 501.
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1913 - 2003 (90 years)
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