Mary Sloan Cooper, 82, of Columbia, died Wednesday, November 29, 2017. Born June 12, 1935 in Columbia, she was a daughter of the late Burnell and Arline Fellers Sloan. Mrs. Cooper graduated from Columbia High School and The University of South Carolina where she earned a BA in Education and was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority. She taught school in Florida and South Carolina and was the Secretary-Treasurer at Master Cleaners which she and her husband owned and operated for 35 years. Mrs. Cooper was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, where she served on the Church Council and volunteered with the Soup Kitchen. She served on the board of the East Richland Public Sewer District, volunteered at the Richland County Public Library and Meals on Wheels, and was a past president of the Jaycettes.

Survivors include her daughters, Mary Sloan Cooper Glaser (Brent) and Ellen Cooper Scott (Tommy); son, Lee Cooper; sister, Lois Mae Sloan; good friend, John Cromer; and grandchildren, Will, Cooper and Anna Scott and Torrey and Taylor Glaser. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Leon Archie Cooper, Jr. and sisters, Betty Keels, Carolyn Criss and Janet Albers.

The service for Mrs. Cooper will be held at 3 o'clock, Sunday, December 3rd, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church conducted by The Rev. Dr. Tony A. Metze. Burial will follow in Elmwood Cemetery. The family will receive friends Saturday afternoon from 3 until 5 o'clock at Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, 7600 Trenholm Road Ext., Columbia. The family request memorials be made to St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1715 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201 or to The Alzheimer's Association of SC, 140 Stoneridge Drive, Suite 210, Columbia, SC 29210.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to the staff at White Oak Manor and Tidewater Hospice for their care of both Leon and Mary.