Maurice E. Cooper, age 88, passed away on Friday April 21, 2017 at the Agrace HospiceCare in Fitchburg Wisconsin with his daughter and grandson present. A man born with a smile on his face, a sunny disposition and a passion for the Chicago Cubs and Green Bay Packers, Maurice was in good health and living at home on the family farm with his son Bill, daughter-in-law Pam and their family until a sudden illness befell him a week prior to his passing. Maurice was born November 28, 1928 the seventh, and youngest, child of Walter and Winifred (Butler) Cooper. Maurice grew up on the family dairy and hog farm in Whitewater Wisconsin, living through both the Great Depression and World War II in his youth. Always bright, Maurice graduated Whitewater City High School in 1945 at the age of seventeen. Attending UW – Madison Short Course in the late 1940s. It was at a Short Course dance that Maurice met the love of his life Geraldine (“Gerry”) Sommer. Maurice and Gerry were married on February 18, 1950 at the Emanuel Evangelical United Brethren Church in Arlington WI. After a brief time working at the Pabst Farm in Oconomowoc, and then renting a farm in Brooklyn WI, Maurice and Gerry settled in at the Sommer family farmstead in Token Creek, Wisconsin where they raised six children and a prominent herd of Registered Holsteins, Moss-Oak Farm. Throughout his lifetime, Maurice was an active member, supporter, and leader of 4-H, and local, state, and national Registered Holstein associations. He served as an active board member of: World Dairy Expo, Wisconsin Dairy Herd Improvement Association, American Dairy Association, Dane County Holstein Association, Dane County Farm Bureau, and the Wisconsin Holstein Association. Civically, Maurice served over 20 years as board member of the DeForest School District, and 5 years as chairman of the Windsor Town board. Maurice and Gerry were both charter members of the Token Creek Lions Club. Maurice received the Ag Source Distinguished Leadership Award in 1999 and the Distinguished Service Award from the WI Holstein Association in 2004. Maurice and Gerry both received the Distinguished Holstein Senior Breeder Award, the Wisconsin Master Agriculturist Award, and belonged to the Wisconsin Master Farmers Group. Maurice is survived by a large and loving family which includes his children, Bonnie Cooper of North York, Ontario, Canada, Donna (James) Humphreys of Clayton MO, Barbara (Roger) Sherman of Twin Lakes, William (Pamela) Cooper of DeForest, Raymond (Tracy) Cooper of Lakeville, MN, and David (Cindy) Cooper of Sun Prairie; grandchildren, Andi, Vicki (Kenny), Juli, Ami, Luke, Matthew, Rachel, Sarah, Cameron (Amy), Jordan, Austin, Morgan, and step-grandchildren: Kim (Steve), Lindsay and Michael (Megan); great-grandchild Abbigail; sisters-in-law Betty Lou Smith, Elizabeth Cooper, and Helen Cooper and an extended family including generations of many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife; his parents; grandchild, Ashley Cooper; brothers, Francis Cooper, Walter Cooper, and Alan Cooper; sisters, Ruth Cooper, Lucile Cooper, and Elizabeth (Edwin) Messmer; sister-in-law and brothers-in-law, Verna (Francis) Cooper, Edwin Messmer, and Merwyn Smith. A Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 27th at Sun Prairie United Methodist Church, 702 North St. in Sun Prairie, with Pastor Jenny Arneson presiding. A visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 26th at Tuschen-Newcomer Funeral Home, 302 Columbus St., in Sun Prairie and from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service at the church on Thursday. Burial will be at Sun Prairie City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association Scholarship Fund.

Tuschen-Newcomer Funeral Home
Sun Prairie, WI 608-837-5400
www.newcomerfh.com