COLUMBUS—Barbara K. Cooper, age 88, passed away on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at The Meadows Assisted Living, Fall River. Barbara was born on April 18, 1934 in Roxbury, Wisconsin to Anton and Florentina (Breunig) Ballweg. Barb graduated from Columbus High School and soon after she married her first husband Ken Finger. Tragically, she lost him to a car accident just a month after their daughter Sharon was born. She met her second husband Herb while waiting on him at her family's restaurant in Columbus. Herb had two girls from his first marriage, Pat and Ruth who lived with their mother much of their lives. Barb and Herb were married on December 21, 1957 and had 5 more children of their own, Alan, Debbie, Todd, Tom and Scott. As a mother with 6 kids in the house, Barb kept busy running the household, making great food, making ends meet and instilling good human decency in her children. Barb was accepting of everyone, enjoyed good natured teasing and had a good sense of humor. She stayed busy attending church and school functions and just about every sporting event her kids participated in. She enjoyed gardening, bowling, cards, crochet, casino trips and family gatherings with her husband Herb. Sadly, she lost 3 of her children far too soon in their lives, but she persevered albeit with a sorrow she carried with her the rest of her life. Barb enjoyed staying busy and worked many jobs into her 70's until a relatively rare condition called Adult-Onset Hydrocephalus progressively slowed her down. She eventually moved into The Meadows in Fall River for additional care. She was a staff favorite because of her good nature and sense of humor. She was given much love by the team there and her family. Hospice helped provide care in her final weeks until she passed away peacefully with family at her side.

Survivors include her step daughters Pat (Bob) Lambert of Lehigh Acres FL, Ruth Ann (Bob) Fletcher of Benicia CA, daughter Sharon (Steve) Pratt of Columbus; two sons Tom Cooper of Columbus and Scott (Kathy) Cooper of Oregon; daughter-in-law Kris (Mike) Behrendt; grandchildren John, Erica, Jamie, Brianne, Cheyenne, Mitchell, Ashley, Addie, Remi, Sonya, Heather, Brandie and Jessica; 16 great grandchildren; three sisters Marie Drolshagen of Columbus; Bernadine (Dick) Mueller of Watertown; Rita Schlimgen of Noblesville IN; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Barbara was preceded in death by her parents; husbands Ken and Herb; sons Alan and Todd; daughter Debbie Larson; son-in-law Gary Larson, daughter-in-law Denise Cooper, brothers Henry, Sylvester, Leonard.

A memorial service will be held at 1:30 PM on Friday, June 24, 2022 at Jensen Funeral & Cremation in Columbus with visitation starting at 1:00 P.M.. Inurnment will immediately follow in St. Jerome Cemetery, Columbus.

Family and friends are invited to gather to celebrate and remember Barb from 3:00 P.M. to 6:00 PM at the Columbus Town Hall, N1120 Schaefer Rd, Columbus.

Please share your online condolences with Barbara's family at jensenfuneralandcremation.com