In Memorium - Betty Cooper

Betty Cooper died in Kent and Canterbury Hospital on the 30th May 2004.  She had been suffering from leukaemia since the summer of 2002, and spent several months in hospital battling against the cancer in her blood.  Her brave fight gave her another year of life, and although the leukaemia was the cause of her death, what finally carried her off, was the MRSA virus.

Her funeral took place on 10 June 2004, attended by many of her friends at Amity.  The service was an opportunity to celebrate her life, and many of us spoke about our memories of her, the impact she had on us, and her work with Amity. 

Although less than five feet tall, Betty Cooper has been a "large" figure within Amity.  She joined as one of our first volunteers in 1974, serving until 1998.

She became Club Secretary in 1978, and held that office until she was too ill to continue, in 2002.  In addition she held the post of Supervising Tutor at numerous clubs.

 In 1978, as a special study for her HNC Business Studies (Public Administration ) course she wrote "The Growth of Awareness of Adult Illiteracy in Britain".  This study featured her work with Amity, and has been republished by us, as it contains much, which is still relevant today.

In 1993, she identified the benefits that IT could bring to Amity, both in terms of our administration and to our literacy tuition work with students. She coined the phrase "Computer Literacy Project", and helped both in the fund raising for this work and in the implementation of our use of laptop computers, colour printers and adult literacy software.

She is sorely missed.