Laura Christine Cooper

Loving wife, mother, sister, daughter, auntie and friend, Laura Cooper was taken suddenly on Tuesday morning, March 14, 2017, in an automobile accident on Highway 56. She leaves behind her husband and son, Dave and Holden Cooper of Troy, her sister and brother-in-law Jennifer and Jason Williams of Hayden, Idaho and their two children, her parents, Ned and Bonnie Miller of Crestline, Calif., and many other family members and close friends.

Born Laura Christine Miller on Sept. 4, 1971 in Fullerton, Calif., Laura was the oldest of two daughters. She and her sister were raised in a close-knit family environment in Diamond Bar, Calif. Laura graduated from Diamond Bar High School in 1989 and then attended Citrus College where she studied cosmetology. She specialized in skincare and worked as a licensed cosmetologist for Clarins Skincare for nearly twenty years. She enjoyed her job and the opportunity to travel around southern California for her work.

Laura met her husband, David Cooper in high school, but the two did not reconnect until she was in her mid-twenties. Dave and Laura were married on Sept. 9, 2000 in California. Laura battled and beat breast cancer in her mid-thirties and was very thankful to become a mother afterwards at age 38. After her son, Holden was born Laura stopped working fulltime to stay home with him.

Laura and her husband purchased the Halfway House Bar and Grill in Bull Lake Road, Mont. in June 2014 along with her sister and brother-in-law, Jennifer and Jason Williams. Laura made friends quickly and immediately got involved in the Troy community. She befriended everyone at the Halfway House, she volunteered regularly at W.F. Morrison Elementary School, she worked as a substitute teacher and she was an active member of the Troy PTA.

Laura enjoyed crafts and cooking. She loved to watch cooking shows for ideas and she also loved to watch the Golden Girls and Seinfeld, shows that she could recite nearly every line of. She would sit and read for hours when she got into a good book, no one could drag her away from it until it was finished. She loved 80s movies and music, and more than anything she loved people. Laura always had a great big smile on her face to greet you with and a group of friends around her. She made everyone who met her feel special with her kindness and fun-loving personality. She will be dearly missed.

Services were held in Troy, Mont. on Saturday, March 18 and will be held in Fullerton, Calif., on March 25. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Troy Public Schools in her name. Funds raised will be used for a playground improvement project and a dedication plaque with her name on it.