Jean Helen Cooper
Jean Helen Cooper of Mattituck died at home on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, from MELAS Syndrome. She was 74 years old.
Jean was born on Oct. 24, 1948, in Greenport to Doris (née Buckingham) and Eugene J. Gribbin.
She lived most of her life on Long Island. She had been married to her high school sweetheart, Donald J. Cooper Sr., for 57 years, and they had four children.
Jean was baptized at the Mattituck Presbyterian Church and attended until her death. She was a Girl Scout leader in Mattituck. Jean was a deacon at the church, and was a Stephen Minister.
She helped with the youth group. She was often the chairperson for the church’s fairs and especially loved to volunteer at the John’s Place homeless outreach. She valued attending Bible studies at the church. She loved her church, a place that always meant to so much to her, and where she became a born-again Christian.
Jean graduated from Mattituck High School and attended Suffolk Community College. She worked for pediatrician Dr. Tom Mercier for several years. Jean loved cake decorating, she took guitar and piano lessons. She loved animals and had all kinds: chickens, squirrels, baby deer and always dogs and cats. Her real passion was helping people in need. Jean had a heart bigger than the North Fork. She would take people into her home and was always willing to help her kids and the children in the neighborhood. She always welcomed to her table anyone who would come for Thanksgiving or Easter dinner.
She adored her grandchildren and liked giving words of wisdom, along with hugs. She was truly a friend to the friendless, a mother to the motherless, and a defender of the defenseless.
Through much heart ache and personal illness, she held on to the rock of her faith, and Jesus held on to her. She remembers clearly God telling her: “Don’t worry about where you fit, you fit with Me,” and that assurance set her free to be that kind of person to others.
Her favorite Scripture was Matthew 28:20 — “I will always be with you, to the end of the age.”
Predeceased by her beloved daughter Mindy Marie; and by her sister Doris Murphy of Kentucky; Jean is survived by her husband, Donald Sr.; her children Donald Cooper Jr. of Mattituck, Tammy Cooper of Mattituck (and her former husband Russell Gregg) and Scott (Jennifer) Cooper of Sloatsburg, N.Y.; her wonderful grandchildren, Krista Smith of Catskill, N.Y., Cavan and Liam Gregg of Southold and Tyler and Samantha Cooper of Sloatsburg; her sisters Florence Pumillo of Texas and Betty Eble of Maryland; and by her many friends and her beloved dogs.
Jean remembers one women’s retreat she attended at the Cenacle. She saw herself as a little girl with pigtails, walking through a field of beautiful red roses and purple flowers. Praise God that right now, Jean is walking with her precious Mindy and her beloved Savior, hand in hand through a field of heavenly flowers. She will be greatly missed, while heaven is rejoicing with: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
The family will receive friends Monday, Aug. 7, from 4 to 7 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, Aug. 8, at 11 a.m. at the Mattituck Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. James F. Cubie officiating. Interment will follow at Cutchogue Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Mattituck Presbyterian Church for the homeless would be appreciated.
This is a paid notice.
