Mildred Sue (Cooper) Lane

Mildred Sue (Cooper) Lane, of Veto, Ohio, passed away at her home Wednesday afternoon, January 20, 2021. Sue was born on September 14, 1932, in Webster Springs, WV, to H. Ward Cooper and Eula Perrine Cooper. Sue was one of three children. Her brother, Philip Cooper, who preceded her in death, patiently taught his younger sister how to drive a stick shift on the hilly roads of Webster County. Her younger sister, June Cooper Wiseman, of St. Augustine, FL, shared a bedroom with Sue when they were teenagers. The two of them drew a dividing line down the middle of their room, bed, even their dresser and mirror (labeling their sides with nail polish,) to mark whose side was whose, but when the two sisters grew up, nothing could divide them, no matter where the two were living.

On April 22, 1956, Sue married the love of her life, Richard (Dick) Lane, and the two of them enjoyed almost 64 years together, before Richard’s passing last spring. Sue and Dick are survived by their four children and their spouses: Timothy Lane, of Veto, OH; Eric Lane and Karen Yocum Lane, of Crooksville, OH; David Lane and Andrea Pletcher Lane, of Washington Courthouse, OH; and Rebecca Lane Beittel and Timothy Beittel, of Aberdeen, NC. They also have five grandchildren, their spouses, and two great-grandchildren: Kyle Lane and Alyssa Bledsoe Lane, and their children, Kylen and Ward Lane, all of Crooksville, OH; Clayton Lane and Sarah Lane, of Tacoma, WA; Connor Lane, of Washington Courthouse, OH; and Elaina and Alexis Beittel, of Aberdeen, NC.

Sue was an avid learner, attending Fairmont State University and finishing her education by taking correspondence courses in business and accounting while working at her father’s car dealership. In addition to being a full-time mom, she helped Dick run his businesses as his bookkeeper. After the couple’s retirement, Sue spent her time reading, and her home was filled to the rafters with books. Sue was the best cook in the entire world, and was renowned for her Christmas fruitcakes, her Thanksgiving cornbread dressing, and her homemade pepper pot soup, the recipes of each have never been written down, to her family’s knowledge (even at their urging for her to do so,) because she never measured anything.

Sue spent a prolonged illness in her home, not Covid-19-related, but was cared for with love by her oldest son, Tim. She spent her last days surrounded by the love of her family, both in-person and virtually, and was comforted by her faith – as she had always been a profoundly spiritual person, a long-time Sunday school teacher, and a Biblical scholar.

The family will hold a celebration of life service in the early summer.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to the Washington County Public Library, Barlow Branch, P.O. Box 175, Barlow, OH, 45712, to remember Sue’s love of reading and to support the community through the library’s many services.