Janice E. Cooper

Janice E. Cooper, 93, of Upton, MA, passed away on Monday, September 16, 2024 after a short illness.

She was born on October 4, 1930, in Milford, MA to the late Herman and Bertha (Cheney) Temple.  She was a lifelong resident of Upton except for 12 years when she and her husband Laurence “Larry” Cooper, Jr. lived in Southborough, MA.  She graduated from Grafton High School class of 1947 after the Upton High School burned down in 1945.

Janice is survived by three sisters, Joyce Peavey, Marlene Budge and Judy Hebb; and her children, Leslie Cooper Morenus, Steven Page (Victoria), Susan Barnhart (Brian) and Jeffrey Cooper (Andrea).  She also leaves 22 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.  She was predeceased by her first husband Leo L. Page and second husband Laurence A. Cooper, Jr. and children Lynn Blake, Laurence Cooper III and John Page.

She was an active Grange member, originally joining the Whitehall Grange as a teen before transferring to the Upton Grange in 1947.  She loved to cook and sew, sewing many outfits for her children as they grew up.  She volunteered for several years transcribing books to braille.  She was a lifetime bowler, participating in several leagues.  She loved entering skill contests and once won a two-week trip to Europe for her Chicken-in-the-Limelight recipe.  Jan and Larry enjoyed 35 years of marriage. In 1985, she retired from working as a bookkeeper at Security Engineered Machinery.  Summers were spent in Harpswell, ME where she enjoyed looking for treasures at antique shops and county fairs. They enjoyed many evenings dancing at Moseley’s on the Charles.

Calling hours will be held on Tuesday, October 1, from 5 to 7 P.M. at the Pickering & Son Upton Funeral Home, 45 Main St, Upton, MA.

Her funeral service will be held on Wednesday, October 2, at 10:00 AM in the United Parish of Upton Church, 1 Church St, Upton, MA.  A collation will immediately follow the service in the downstairs vestry.

Burial in Southborough Rural Cemetery will take place privately with her family.

The family wants to express our thanks to the staff at Cornerstone of Milford, Compassionate Care Hospice and Palliative Personal Care of Worcester for the excellent care Jan received in her last weeks of life.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to Baypath Humane Society, 500 Legacy Farms N, Hopkinton, MA 01748 or to the Upton Grange, 26 School St. Upton, MA 01568.