A remarkable Bloomfield woman was honored in 1974 by the Missouri Funeral Directors Association: Lulu Cooper, an octogenarian who made a unique career change from teaching to embalming.
100 years ago
May 30, 1924
• Decoration Day services were held in the Poplar Bluff City Cemetery this morning, with a crowd declared to be the largest in local history.
The ceremony began with a parade from the courthouse to the cemetery, where special honor was given to the most recently deceased veteran, Civil War soldier Samuel Howard. A prayer, speech and gun salute followed.
Decoration Day was the precursor to Memorial Day.
75 years ago
May 30, 1949
• A Van Buren man died yesterday after falling down a cliff during a family outing.
The accident occurred while Henry Elwood Bell, 58, and his family guided another family, the Lohmanns of St. Louis, on a hike near the Current River. While the families photographed each other, Bell slipped and fell 20 feet down an overlook, dying on impact.
He was survived by a wife and eight children, four of whom were in the armed forces. He co-owned a machine shop in Van Buren with his brother.
50 years ago
May 30, 1974
• Lulu Cooper of Bloomfield made an interesting job change — at age 39 she quit teaching and began a decades-long career in embalming. The Daily American Republic reported Cooper was recognized recently with a feature article in the Bulletin, the official publication of the Missouri Funeral Directors Association.
Cooper decided to pursue embalming at the recommendation of her father J.A. Chiles, founder of Chiles Funeral Home in Bloomfield. In 1929, after 13 years of walking to various teaching jobs across “swampeast Missouri,” Cooper traveled to St. Louis at the A.H. Hoppe Funeral Service. This was the height of the Great Depression and Cooper was the only woman in the prep room. She reportedly endured “rough talk” from her male colleagues until her determination and sincerity earned their respect. Cooper passed the state board in 1930 and rejoined her family at their funeral home.
Two of Cooper’s sons followed their mother’s footsteps and graduated from embalming school.
The article said Cooper was still known for walking to work, but only in good weather. She remained active in the Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home as a record keeper and assistant to bereaved families.