Shon Cooper

Shon was born here in Wenatchee on 8-15-69, grew up and graduated from Eastmont High School in 1981. He did a brief stint in the Marines graduating from boot camp in San Diego, Calif. After returning home he entered a college program at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake where he lived with his grandparents and worked part time. He later attended college in Modesto, Calif. where he lived with his paternal grandmother. He later went to work and learned carpentry skills from Gene Rosentreter the father of his childhood friend Jerrod whom he has also worked along side throughout the years. He was a perfectionist by nature and often crossed paths with his job title causing friction with employers, but his goal was to do a superior job for his employer. His last job ended in the spring this year with home buyers backing out of their contracts leaving no work for him. He had a long battle with alcoholism and later in life was also depressed not connecting the fact that the alcohol was part of the reason. At the end of his life he knew that he needed help desperately but said he didn’t want it because he was afraid that if he submitted to treatment he would be locked up. He felt that since he had burned so many bridges with employers no one wanted to hire him and that he had lost his friends because of his addiction to alcohol. Just a week before he left us, I could tell that he didn’t want to take me up on my offer for him to move in with me. I wanted him to have better living conditions and a new start at life. We talked about searching for work outside the world of carpentry, and he seemed excited by that. However, he didn’t find the right fit and obviously became overly discouraged. On the day after his passing, I felt him reach down and tell me that he was o.k. now, and that he knew I would be also someday very soon. Shon was a loving son and helped me with a lot of projects at my home. We enjoyed sharing meals and he would call me nearly every night to make sure I had had a good day and was o.k. I shared my love of cooking with him by sending him home with new and old recipes. His favorite was what we called Cowboy Stew and Meat Loaf. Shon is survived by not only his mother Sharon Talkington, but also two brothers Todd and Scott Cooper and their families, and his daughter Kristen. He will be dearly missed! Although he was not a church goer, I do believe he believed in God and he prayed that his sins would be forgiven, and he commented that he hoped to see me in heaven one day. My hope is that anyone who has felt such isolation from reality would listen to those who so love them and be able to understand that help is offered in love not condemnation. Please join us for a celebration of his life on Saturday November 11 at 2 p.m. at Wenatchee Valley Christian Center located at 1621 S. Methow St., Wenatchee, WA. Arrangements in the care of Chapel of the Valley, East Wenatchee.

Shon Cooper

August 15, 1969 - October 16, 2023