Lena Hayes Cooper

     Our dear mother, Lena Hayes Cooper, passed away on April 5, 2024, at the age of 92. She was a wonderful mother who was always there when we needed her. She also had many friends and family and was a well-loved member of the community in Ochlocknee, GA, and her church, Midway Baptist Church in Meigs.
     Preceding her in death were her parents, John Theron Hayes and Mattie Pope Hayes; her husband, Preston L. Cooper; her older brother, Lavon Hayes; and her two sisters, Bobbie Hayes Schlotzhauer and Elaine Hayes Stallings.  Years after her husband passed, Lena met her second love, Robert Asbel.  The two were engaged, but he passed away suddenly one week before their wedding.
     Lena will be greatly missed by her children, Fred L. Cooper (Karen) and Iris Cooper Ellis (Randy), and her brother, John Curtis Hayes (Anza).  She also leaves behind grandchildren, Whitney Ellis McConnell (Stephen), Leigh Ellis Garcia (Alec), and Brent Ellis (Taylor); and her step-grandchildren Lacey Searcy, Michael Hamm, and Jennifer Hamm.  Lena was blessed to have four great-grandchildren, Stephen Michael McConnell (7), Vivian McConnell (5), Noah Searcy (17), and Amelia Miller (5). 
     During her lifetime Lena knew the value of hard work.  She was a basketball player at Ochlocknee Schools for her three years of high school.  When she was 17 years old, she began working as a teller at the Bank of Ochlocknee.  After she married, she left the bank after 10 years of service and worked side by side with her husband on the family farm.  After raising her children, she went back to work as a secretary and assistant at Stubbs Sales and Service in Ochlocknee.  Later she trained to be a unit secretary at Archbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville, GA.  When Lena retired from Archbold after 16 years, she had advanced to Transport Supervisor.
     Lena lived independently and managed the family farm until two months before her death.  She leaves behind a legacy of kindness, charity, and grace.
     The family would like to thank all of the extended family members, church family, and friends who visited, sent flowers, brought cakes and candy, and cooked meals during the final days of Lena's life.  They would also like special recognition for the administrators and nurses of Georgia Hospice, who were wonderful.  A big thank you also goes to the administrators and nurses of Southern Pines, who accepted Lena as a resident, cared for her and the family, and helped make this final stage of her life beautiful and peaceful.
     In lieu of flowers, Lena requested that donations be made to Midway Baptist Church Cemetery Fund or to Gideons International.

     Funeral services for Lena Hayes Cooper, 92, will be held Monday, April 8, 2024 at 10:30 AM at Midway Baptist Church.  Rev. Nathan Fowler and Rev. Dennis Norman will officiate with interment to follow at Ochlocknee City Cemetery.  Pallbearers will be Brent Ellis, Alec Garcia, Henry Hayes, Stephen McConnell, Billy Mash, Jerry Stallings and Ken Hickey (Alternate).  Honorary pallbearers will be John Bullock, Herbert Cooper, and Ronnie Herring.  Visitation will be Sunday, April 7, 2024 from 5:00-7:00 PM at Willis Jamerson Braswell Funeral Home.