PARISH OF THE NEW ENGLAND DIOCESE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA
Martha Cooprider
Martha Cooprider, 92, long time resident of Roshell, IL, and Claremont, NH, died Tuesday, Feb. 14th, 2006, in Ellensburg, WA, where she had resided for the past four years.
Mrs. Cooprider was born on April 27, 1913, in Zion, IL, the daughter of August and Ida Guschausky.
She was preceded in death by her husband Clyde E. Cooprider in 1967 and by a brother Matthew and two sisters, Johanna Guschausky and Clara Luce.
She is survived by her daughter, Lee Browne of Ellensburg, WA; granddaughter Linlee Nelson of Missoula, and great-granddaughters Kailee and Kate Nelson. She leaves a number of step-grandchildren in Montana and the East Coast.
Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Fitzgerald Funeral Home in Rockford, IL. There were no calling hours at the funeral home. Services were held on Saturday, Feb. 18th, at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Rockford. Internment was in Daysville Cemetery, Oregon, IL.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggested that donations be made to the Memorial Fund, Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, Claremont NH, where Martha was a parishioner for more than 20 years.
Note from a Friend
Elena Vasilieva
When I came to Claremont from Russia to visit my family in 1987, the first person who greeted me at the doors of the church rectory was Martha Cooprider.
She was so sweet, so welcoming, and so kind that we immediately became good friends. And although my English vocabulary without practice was limited, Martha's patience and endless interest in new things and people allowed us to understand each other pretty well.
She was a great cook and invited me for dinners at her house, where I could also adore the flowers she grew outdoors. At that time, Martha was reading one of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's books and had questions regarding certain aspects of Soviet life. On my visits to Martha's house, I would bring with me a thick Russian-English Dictionary, and, using it as a translator, we spent hours in an interesting conversations about life. She also shared with me her memories of her parents and her childhood.
For some reason (maybe because I understood it better than other stories), I remember one funny story she told me about her family horse. The horse's name was "Pferd," which means just "horse" in German. They changed it to the more English-sounding name "Ford" when WWII broke out. We laughed a lot about it, especially considering that "Ford" was originally a German name also.
It was so easy to be her friend because she herself was a wonderful friend to everyone. We all were blessed to live in the soft, glowing light of her soul! Memory eternal to you, dear Martha!