Oklahoman Archives
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
April 25, 1995
Anthony
Christopher Cooper II, age 2 1/2, of Moore, passed away April
19, 1995, as a result of the Federal Building bombing. He was
born Sept. 7, 1992 to Anthony Christopher and Dana LeAnne Cooper
in Midwest City, Ok. Christopher brought light and happiness to
everyone's life whom he touched. He is survived by his father,
A.C., of the home; paternal grandparents, Anthony & Beth Cooper
of MWC, and Saundra Bauer of Choctaw; maternal grandparents,
Carl & Linda Brown of Choctaw; great grandparents, Genendal
Brown, James & Ann Lowe, L.M. & Margaret Cooper, George & Ruby
Bauer & Ruth Brown & Aunt Carrie & many aunts & uncles. His
mother was also killed in the Federal Building. Services will be
2:30 p.m. Wednesday, at the First Baptist Church of Nicoma Park
with burial at Arlington Memory Gardens.
Dana LeAnne Cooper
"Like many
women of the '90s, Dana Cooper of Moore struggled with her
desire to stay at home with her son, Christopher, and her dream
of becoming a kindergarten teacher, her husband, Anthony, said.
"She battled with that all the time. Being a student and
working, she was afraid Christopher didn't get enough of her
time," Cooper said, "but he did." As the new director of the
America's Kids day-care center in the federal building, his wife
felt great about being able to take her young son to work with
her, Cooper said. Cooper said he dropped the two off at the
Murrah Building Wednesday morning, planning to return for them
that afternoon. Dana Cooper, 24, had planned to fly that day to
San Francisco for a day care conference. However, the Coopers'
lives were forever altered when a bomb shattered the federal
building. Cooper said he was notified Saturday that his son
Christopher, 2, was dead. On Sunday, the family received the
news that Dana Cooper also had died in the explosion. The grief
for his wife and son could not be borne without help from a
higher power, Cooper said. "I could not imagine how anyone could
get through something like this without God." America's Kids
owner Melva Nokes said she had known Dana Cooper since she first
hired the young woman to work in her Choctaw day-care center.
Nokes said even then, as a student at Choctaw High School, the
young woman showed signs of promise. "She would have made an
excellent teacher," Nokes said. Nokes, with Dana Cooper at the
helm, took over operation of the federal building day-care
center March 27. Now, just three weeks later, Nokes said it is
hard to believe Dana Cooper is gone. She then remembered that
cheery voice still on the recording. "This is exactly like I've
lost one of my own children. It hurts that much," Nokes said.
Anthony Cooper said his wife was a student at the University of
Central Oklahoma, majoring in early childhood education. Dana
Cooper was about a year away from graduation, he said. The
couple had been married for five years and had talked about
expanding their family. Cooper said he and his wife adored
Christopher, whose full 1 name was Anthony C. Cooper II. "He was
a very happy child, very vibrant - Mr. Personality," Cooper
said. He said his wife loved all children. "She was the most
beautiful person I ever met. Everything she did, she did for the
children," Cooper said.