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Submitted: 7/14/24 • Approved: 7/31/24 • Last Updated: 8/3/24 • R276018-G276018-S3
Charlotte Cooper-Tracy
February 14, 1937 - May 16, 2024
Charlotte Cooper-Tracy, Sioux Falls, SD, passed away Thursday, May 16, 2024, at Bethany Home, Brandon, SD. She was 87.
Charlotte Anne Cooper was born to Charles and Gladys (Peterson) Cooper in rural Doland, SD, February 14, 1937. She attended country school, graduated from Doland High School in 1955, and earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Dakota Wesleyan University, in Mitchell, SD, in 1960. In 1972, she was awarded her Masters in Education from the University of MN.
She married John Tracy in 1960. They became parents to two sons, Timothy and Thomas. The family moved to St. Paul, MN, in 1968, where she worked at St. Paul Ramsey Hospital. She was appointed Director of Ancker School of Nursing and later became Director of St. Mary’s Junior College Nursing Program in Minneapolis. In 1985, she married Donald Erdahl and they moved to Chula Vista, CA, where Charlotte became Dean of Health and Public Services at Southwestern College. They retired and moved back to SD, in 2001. Winters were spent in Tucson, AZ for several years. Later, Charlotte spent four winters in San Antonio, TX. She moved to Touchmark at All Saints in 2019, where she remained until her sudden health decline in the fall of 2021. After months of rehab and transition, her home became Bethany Meadows in Brandon, SD. Charlotte loved her apartments there as well as the caring staff. She last resided in memory care. She was treasured by her caregivers for her ready smile and appreciative nature.
Charlotte was a member of Toastmistress International and Sigma Theta Tau (Nursing Honor Society). She was also a member of First Lutheran Church where she was active in Bible study groups. Her hobbies included cooking, needle work and volunteering at First Lutheran Church for 4 years. In her retirement years she not only fulfilled her dream of skydiving, but enjoyed traveling to England (walking the Cotswolds) and Scotland; Dubai and India; Africa; Mexico; and down the Danube River in Europe. In earlier years, she and her sisters took several excursions including trips through Canada by train; Alaska; and down the Mississippi via Riverboat.
Her gift of caregiving enhanced the lives of many over the year, particularly those of her sisters. She stayed for months in Tucson, AZ, with her sister Ruth Gardner as Ruth neared the end of this life. Her sister Deanna Underwood of Ottawa, KS, was the beneficiary of Charlotte’s care during Deanna’s last months on earth. She was a dear companion to her sister Pat Darger of Sioux Falls, during Pat’s declining years. She loved her family which extended beyond her sons and siblings to steps, in-laws. nieces and nephews. She was interested in their lives and well-being.
Preceding her in death are her parents Charles and Gladys Cooper; sisters Patricia Darger (Gordon Darger and Lloyd Erickson), Ruth Gardner (Ron), and Deanna Underwood (Joseph). Those left to cherish her memory are her sons: Timothy Tracy (Brooklyn Center, MN) and Thomas Tracy (Apple Valley, MN); brother and sister-in-law Donald Cooper and Terry Walter (Sioux Falls, SD); step-daughter Linda Elliott (Brooklyn Park, MN); step-grandchildren John and Taylor Elliott (Brooklyn Park, MN); and an array of nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be directed to The Banquet or a charity of choice.
Visitation Tuesday, May 21, 5- 7 PM, Miller Funeral Home downtown Sioux Falls. Funeral services Wednesday, May 22, 11 AM, First Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, SD.
Contributed on 7/14/24 by 9katz
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Record #: 276018