Welcome to our new web site!

To give our readers a chance to experience all that our new website has to offer, we have made all content freely avaiable, through October 1, 2018.

During this time, print and digital subscribers will not need to log in to view our stories or e-editions.

Mark Brian Cooper

1968 – 2025

Posted 1/28/25

Columbia, Mo., resident Mark Cooper, age 56, passed away at the University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia on January 19, 2025.

Mark Brian Cooper was born on November 6, 1968, in Kansas City, …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Mark Brian Cooper

1968 – 2025

Posted

Columbia, Mo., resident Mark Cooper, age 56, passed away at the University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia on January 19, 2025.

Mark Brian Cooper was born on November 6, 1968, in Kansas City, Mo. He was one of two children born to Russell and Sallie (Bartholomew) Cooper. Mark grew up in the Glen Carbon, Ill., area and developed many lifelong friendships. He attended and graduated from Metro East Lutheran High School with the class of 1987.

In August of 1988, Mark was injured in a diving accident and had to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Despite the many challenges and difficulties of his disability, Mark never gave up. He furthered his education, earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Mark also developed a love for outdoor sports. He spent many hours fishing, hunting, and boating. Mark spent his professional career working as a computer programmer for multiple software companies in the St. Louis, Mo., area.  

Survivors include his parents, Russell (Sallie) Cooper of Columbia, Mo.; sister, Mary (Eric) Pfitzinger of Columbia, Mo.; and three nephews, Lukas, Aughust, and Gunnar Pfitzinger, all of Columbia, Mo.

A funeral service honoring Mark’s life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at Friemonth-Freese Funeral Home in Fayette, Mo., with Rev. Chris Cook officiating. Visitation will be an hour before the service at the funeral home, starting at 10 a.m. Interment will follow the service at Walnut Ridge Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the Wounded Warrior Project (woundedwarriorproject.org) or Tunnel to Towers Foundation (t2t.org). These two charities were very close to Mark’s heart, and he always supported them.