Linda Lee Cooper

1946 - 2025

Linda Lee (Yunis) Cooper, 78, died at home on May 6, 2025, in Greensboro, NC. A beloved wife, mother and grandmother, Linda was a skilled nurse and counselor, a compassionate friend, generous benefactor and spiritual role model to many. She had a way of caring for, connecting with, and lifting up everyone she encountered.

Born July 30, 1946, in Cleveland, OH, she was the second child of Norman and Mary Rose Yunis. While at an academic camp for high schoolers at Northwestern University, she met David, a West Virginia boy who would become her husband of 55 years. After six years of letter writing and occasional visits, the couple married in 1969 and settled in West Virginia, where they raised their three children. Their home was a haven for countless teenagers and friends, many of whom remember those times fondly.

After earning a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Michigan, Linda worked as a clinical nurse in the pediatric burn and surgical unit at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and in a hospital pediatric unit in Charleston, WV. Returning to school, she earned a master's degree in nursing from West Virginia University, where she also taught nursing. Later, she obtained an advanced certificate in psychiatric nursing. As co-founder and long-time director of the Charleston Area Medical Center Family Resource Center, Linda and her team provided psychiatric and support services to the community and hospital employees. She also founded a chapter of The Compassionate Friends in Charleston, which offered free support services and groups for bereaved parents. That experience led her to a new calling in hospice care. She worked as a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist and grief counselor for an inpatient hospice unit in WV and later trained incarcerated individuals to be hospice volunteers for their fellow inmates at end of life.

In retirement, Linda embarked on a new chapter with Dave, running a small working farm in Ripley, WV, where they raised vegetables, kept cows and donkeys, and entertained their growing number of grandchildren. In 2016, the couple moved to Greensboro, NC. Known as "Grammy," Linda was an active presence in her children and grandchildren's lives, rarely missing a game or school event, preparing delicious Lebanese meals, making baklava every Christmas, actively listening, advising and leaving a legacy of love, caring and service.

Together, Linda and her husband quietly supported countless causes in NC and WV. Linda was a lifelong student of spirituality and enjoyed reading, meditating, journaling, and participating in her "Spirit Circle," a group of 11 women that has met for 25 years. After she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2020, she began writing poetry about her experience of survivorship. Linda also loved cooking and feeding her family, playing piano, knitting, and nearly all forms of physical exercise, which she said strengthened her spirit as well.

She was predeceased by her sister Maryanne Salsbury of Cleveland, Ohio. Surviving are her husband Dave of Greensboro; her son, Dr. Michael Cooper (Kari) of Greensboro; two daughters, Marti Smith (Russ) of Greensboro, and Maria Cooper (Philip Snow) of Boulder, Colorado; five grandchildren, Sydney and Sophie Smith, and Hudson, Alex and Leo Cooper; her brother, Dr. Norman Yunis of Minneapolis; Dave's sisters, Judy Brison of Springfield, VA, and Janet Kaufman of Stanley, NC, and many nieces and nephews.

Linda wanted to thank her family, her Spirit Circle and close friends, as well as Dr. Vinay Gudena of Cone Health Cancer Center, Dr. Brittany Davidson of Duke Cancer Center, Cheryl Gray, PT of Cone Health, and Hospice of the Piedmont for their love and care.

After a private burial, a memorial service will be held at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church at 2105 West Market Street in Greensboro on Friday, May 9 at 3:00 pm with a reception to follow. Those wanting to honor Linda's legacy are welcome to contribute to the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, Hospice of the Piedmont, or Mustard Seed Community Clinic in Greensboro in her memory; complete a small act of kindness in her name; and try to live each day by the words she so often said, "On we go."