Majel Ann Cooper died Friday, December 8, 2017, at the age of 63.
Majel was born in 1954 in Evansville, Indiana. Her parents moved to Fort Worth, Texas when she was just a toddler. She began piano lessons and learned to read music at an early age, showing extraordinary musical gifts. Upon graduation from Fort Worth’s Arlington Heights High School in 1972, Majel attended the University of North Texas, where she received a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Music in 1976 and a Master of Music Education in 1978. An Elementary Vocal Music Specialist, Majel taught in the Houston ISD system from 1980 until her retirement in 2010.
Majel was an organist for a number of churches in Houston. An accomplished soprano known by her musical colleagues to have perfect pitch, Majel also loved to sing Big Band songs. Her favorite music included operas, show tunes, and torch songs from the 1930s and 1940s. Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra, and jazz icons Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday were some of her favorites.
Majel loved to keep in touch with her friends from college days. She served as an officer in Sigma Alpha Iota, an international fraternity of women musicians.
Majel is survived by her brother, Robert Cooper, her sister, Mary Beth Cooper Fletcher, her sister-in-law, Cathy Cooper and brother-in-law, Bennett Fletcher, her niece, Stacy Cooper Long, her nephews, Scott Cooper and Jack Thompson, and half a dozen grandnieces and grandnephews.
In lieu of flowers, please give to the charity of your choice.
