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Mrs. W. J. Koopman, 87, Died At Blair Monday Night

Mrs. W.. J. (Mae) Koopman, lifetime resident of Blair, died Monday evening at Good Shepherd Home.

She was 87 years old and death was attributed to the infirmities of old age.

Funeral services for Mrs. Koopman are being held Friday afternoon, June 21st at the First Methodist Church of which she was a lifetime member. Burial will be made in the Blair Cemetery under the direction of the Campbell Mortuary.

Blair will miss the indomitable spirit of a woman who was born during pioneer times in this city and not only watched the town grow up but played a significant part in its advance.

Mae Koopman never lost the eager enthusiasm which characterized her participation in many civic affairs during the 87 years of her life in Blair. She taught public speaking at Dana College, directed dramatics at the city High School. For 25 years she acted as president of the Women’s Society of Christian Service of the Methodist Church where she led the women of the church in raising funds for the new building the church now enjoys. Concerned at the need of a new school building she carried a petition about town securing enough signatures to put the matter on the ballot where it won a majority vote. In childhood she watched her father William McCormick who operated a store in the frontier town as he sought civic advantage in bringing the railroad through this point on the river. Though she was never idle she raised a family of 4 children who have followed their mother’s example of service to their communities.

Mae was born July 15, 1880, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William McCormick. She attended Blair High School and later was married to William James Koopman October 24, 1900. The couple managed the Mt. Hope fruit farm where South 16th Street now ends and continued at this job till 1928. During their yearly operation they employed some 200 persons in their business. For some 25 years after this Mr. Koopman was employed by the World Herald and by the barge industry on the Missouri River.

Since 1959 the couple have lived at the Crowell Memorial Home and Good Shepherd Home in Blair. She is survived by 3 daughters, Mrs. James Thompson (Mae), Mrs. Louis Murdoch (Frances) and Mrs. L. F. States (Mildred) and a son William J. Koopman of Pittsburg, Pa. She has 9 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband and father and mother.

The couple spent 63 happy years of married life together. In their varied activities they worked in such harmony of purpose they were able to achieve together many civic goals and dreams that otherwise would never have been realized.

Note: Per Find a Grave # 114854798: died 18 June 1968; buried 21 June 1968; buried Blk 63 Lot 2 Grave 9.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~