Obituary of Ruth Cooper

Ruth Cooper, long time resident of Plainfield, NJ, passed away on November 1, 2013 in Melbourne, FL, where she had lived for the past five years. Previously, Mrs. Cooper had divided her time between Monroe Township, NJ, and Palm Coast, FL. Mrs. Cooper grew up in Linden, NJ, the daughter of Jacob and Rose Hirschman. Mrs. Cooper was a teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School in South Plainfield, NJ for 20 years, where she had been a kindergarten and remedial reading teacher. She had a bachelors degree from Newark State Teachers College, masters degree in special education from Kean University, and received a fellowship award for study at Yale University. Mrs. Cooper was predeceased by her former husbands, Dr. Maurice Kunzman, Jack Hewitt, and most recently Julius Cooper; sisters, Helen Schonwald of Scotch Plains, NJ and Shirley Fleischman of Linden, NJ; and a brother, Sheldon Hirschman of Somerset, NJ. Mrs. Cooper is survived by her daughters, Lois Shapiro of Nantucket, MA, and Melbourne, FL and Judith Benderson of Chevy Chase, MD; son, Dr. Kenneth Kunzman of Boynton Beach, FL; eight grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren; and her brother, Jerry Hirschman of Somerset, NJ. Services will be held 10 a.m. on Sunday, November 10th at Higgins Home for Funerals in Plainfield, NJ, followed by interment at Samptown Cemetery in South Plainfield, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Memory of Mrs. Cooper to: The Macular Degeneration Foundation at www.eyesight.org.