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Date of these obituaries: 06-25-97
Wendel Cooper, served Florence
Wendel Cooper spent his life watching over the city of Florence.
He was a police and fire dispatcher, a volunteer firefighter and a school bus driver. After he retired, friends could find him sitting in his car at the firehouse or near the school, listening to a scanner and monitoring the passing scene.
Mr. Cooper, 68, died at 11:23 p.m. Sunday at St. Luke Hospital West, Florence.
Mr. Cooper and his mother lived on Main Street in Florence, across from the firehouse. Both were dispatchers for the police and fire departments, and Mr. Cooper was on the volunteer fire department.
"If a call came in, his mom would take over dispatching and he would hop on the fire truck and help fight the fires, " said Florence Assistant Fire Chief Tom Ollier.
"He was well-liked. He would help you anytime you wanted, " Ollier said.
Mr. Cooper's cousin, Debbie Wood of Florence, with whom he had lived since December, recalled a slight but vigorous man always ready to lend a hand.
"In his younger days, Wendel was always on the go and doing things with somebody, " she said.
"Florence was a small town in those days, and everyone knew each other. Wendel was always the type of person who was there to help you if you needed help, " she said.
A plaque in the Florence Fire Department lists Mr. Cooper as an honorary member from 1950 to 1976. It was in the mid-1970s that the department turned professional and Mr. Cooper had to decide between that and dispatching. He remained a dispatcher.
In the 1950s, Boone County Schools asked him to drive a school bus for a few days, Mrs. Wood said. A few days stretched into years.
In retirement, Mr. Cooper and his poodle, Rusty, were an inseparable duo. He was a member of Florence Christian Church.
Mr. Cooper developed emphysema and his health began to fail in December.
Survivors include several cousins.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Florence. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Florence Cemetery.
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Marian C. Deavers, 82, of Florence, died at 1:45 p.m. Tuesday at Florence Park Care Center in Florence. Arrangements are pending at Don Catchen and Son Funeral Home, Elsmere.
Lucy Flynn Aulick Green, 81, of Falmouth, died Tuesday at St. Luke Hospital East, Ft. Thomas. Arrangements are pending at Woodhead Funeral Home, Falmouth.
Marie Hamilton, 90, of Florence, died at 7:40 a.m. Monday at Woodspoint Nursing Home in Florence. She was a homemaker and a member of Beaver Lick Christian Church, Union. Her husband, Edward Hamilton, died in 1994.
Survivors include a son, Ervin Hamilton of Florence; a daughter, Evelyn Ganci of Florence; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Florence. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Beaver Lick Christian Church Cemetery, Union.
Raymond J. Malapelli Jr., 72, of Covington, died Monday at Rosedale Manor Nursing Home, Latonia. He was a retired meter reader with Cincinnati Gas & Electric, and a Navy veteran of World War II. Survivors include his wife, Anna Dice Malapelli; his mother, Julia Meyer Malapelli; a stepdaughter, Linda Hester of Taylor Mill; sisters, Audrey Arrowsmith and Laura Chadderton, both of Covington; four step-grandchildren and seven step-great-grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 9 a.m. Friday at Holy Cross Church, Latonia. Visitation will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Linnemann funeral Home, Covington. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery, Taylor Mill. Memorials are suggested to Salvation Army, 340 W. 10th St., Newport 41071.
Taylor Nicole Rice, was stillborn at 11 p.m. Sunday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood. Survivors include her parents, Brian Rice and Jaime Callis, both of Covington; and grandparents, Joyce Rice of Covington, Jerry Callis of Arizona and Carol Brockell of Ft. Wright.
Services will be at the convenience of the family. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery. Don Catchen and Son Funeral Home, Covington, is handling arrangements.
Ronald A. Ripberger, 51, of Highland Heights, died Tuesday at his home. Arrangements are pending at Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home, Ft. Thomas.
Bertha Hopper Swangin, 69, of Glencoe, died at 9:50 p.m. Monday at her home of cancer. She was a homemaker.
Survivors include her husband, Hillard Swangin; sons, Jimmy Swangin, Tommy Swangin, Donald Swangin and Timmy Swangin, all of Glencoe; daughters, Shirley Hughes, Barbara Hartsock, Tammie Medley and Candy Patrick, all of Cincinnati; 17 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Hamilton-Stanley Funeral Home, Verona. Visitation will begin there at noon Thursday. Burial will be in Glencoe Cemetery.
Lewis James Wever, 87, of Covington, died at 5 p.m. Monday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center North in Covington. He was a retired carman with L&N; Railroad, and a member of Staffordsburg United Methodist Church, Visalia. He was a member of Wilmington Masonic Lodge No. 362 F&AM, Fiskburg, and Order of the Eastern Star Fiskburg Chapter No. 334.
Survivors include his wife, Anna Beatrice Hurst Wever; sons, James Edward Wever of Cincinnati, Louis Garfield Wever of Covington and Douglas Eugene Wever of Florence; daughters, Anna Jane Spurlock, Betty Louise Ballinger and Rose Marie Sebastian, all of Covington; 25 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Connley Brothers Funeral Home, Latonia. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the funeral home. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery, Taylor Mill. Memorials are suggested to the church, 11815 Staffordsburg Road, Visalia 41051.
Eugene Woodward, 81, of Germantown, died at 8:45 p.m. Monday at Columbia Hospital, Maysville. He was a mechanic with the Bracken County Board of Education, and former owner of Woodward Farm Service in Germantown. He was a member of Germantown United Methodist Church. His wife, Helen Case Woodward, died in 1994.
Survivors include a daughter, Eugenia Markey of Germantown.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Palmer Funeral Home, Germantown. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. Burial will be in Maple Grove Cemetery, Germantown. Memorials are suggested to the church, 4027 Broadway Alley, Germantown 41044, or Hospice of Hope, 1 West McDonald Parkway, Maysville 41056.
