In Loving
Memory

Lance was a wonderful man and I am so proud to call him family. Some of my fondest memories growing up were visiting my cousins in Houston. I will miss you, give my Dad and brother a great big hug for me.

Tracy Redmond lit a candle for Lance K. Cooper

Cathy Roper lit a candle for Lance K. Cooper

I met Lance at Fonville in the 7th grade but our friendship blossomed in the 11th & 12th grades and continued our whole lives, finally diminishing to only yearly phone calls or visits between me in Houston and him in Richmond, Va the last 20 yrs. I have always counted Lance as one of my best friends. In our Jr year at Sam High, I helped fix up he and Nancy Lenz and my boyfriends and I double dated with them. Lance was a lot of support when my longtime boyfriend dumped me; then when Nancy dumped him, I was his shoulder to cry on. I was lucky to have Lance as a standby date during the last half of our senior year, with our unspoken agreement that either was free to pursue a new relationship if we ran across someone that interested us. We fixed each other up with new college friends for football weekends and dances while he was a UT frat boy and I was at Baylor and U of H. Lance became more and more handsome as he matured, especially after being chosen top 5 Senior Most Handsome st SHHS, but it did not change him at all. Friendly to everyone, playing pranks or just telling crazy jokes, he livened up most any occasion. Our senior year, I bought some very realistic fake plastic vomit & brought it to school. Before Mr Eledge entered our math class, Lance placed the vomit right next to our teacher’s desk. It was a laughing riot when Mr Eledge noticed the “accident”, turned pale & rushed over to open all the windows because the smell bothered him. He sent Jim Lincoln for the janitor, and the students could hardly contain ourselves.
Dusty told of another one of their many other great shenanigans at the funeral, recalling Lance was the center of all the fun, Dusty himself was the wing man and I was the glue that tried to keep us together.
In our 30’s, Dusty & I met Lance for lunch as he had important news. Lance had been divorced for a while, and he was so excited to be moving he and his beloved daughter Jennifer from Houston out to Virginia to be with his former college sweetheart Leslie. We were happy for him but it meant our meetings would be few & precious now.
Lance was a manly man who liked to help and protect others. From escorting his sister to her 8th grade dance to returning from his second year in college to escort our friend Kathy Cornelius to her Stardust Ball, to checking on his Mom during her long battle with Alzheimer’s & caring for his older brother Mike after his stroke, and planning elaborate Valentine’s Dinners complete with musicians and carriage rides for his wife Leslie and their group of friends in Virginia, he showed his care for others. We were so proud of the inspiring job he did as Master of Ceremony at our 35th high school reunion in Houston, paying a heartfelt tribute to all the teachers in the room including his wife.
Nothing can replace our memories of good times and sad times with our friend Lance. Our lives would’ve been different without him. We are so sorry that Lance had to suffer 7 long years through Lewy Body Dementia disease, as did his extended family, especially Leslie and Jennifer! What a tough road to endure, but we are sure in Heaven that Lance has his healthy body and mind back!
At his 2017 funeral in Virginia, Jennifer gave a lovely eulogy, telling of the many ways her Dad Lance showed her true unconditional love! Dusty also gave an entertaining review of their 55 year long friendship, ending with a reminder to think of Lance when we saw his beloved UT orange in the sunset. The minister used passages Lance marked in 2 of his Bibles. Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, and Somewhere Over the Rainbow were played or sung. It was a lovely send off at the Immanuel Baptist church, where Lance had been an active volunteer.
Lance, our dear friend, we love you and will miss you …..till we meet again on the other side!