Lynette Lorenzen Cooley, 86 years, died Monday, January 2, 2017 at Dorian Place in Ontario, Oregon, where she had been living the past four years. Born July 25, 1930 in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of the late Vera and Howard Lorenzen, Lynette spent her childhood in various places in Ohio and Michigan, graduating from Bryan High School, Bryan, Ohio in 1948. Shortly afterward, she married James Cooley, with whom she had three children.
For several years, the family lived on a farm a few miles out of Bryan, before moving to the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas outside Oroville, California. When Lynette’s father became ill, the family returned to Bryan so that Jim (and later Lynette) could help run the Lorenzen furniture store.
Lynette sold the store shortly after Jim’s death, retiring to spend her time traveling around the world, volunteering at a local thrift store, and helping out at her church. She loved reading novels, playing cards and Scrabble, and doing Sudoku puzzles.
Lynette is survived by her three children, daughter Catherine (Warren) Mulvany, sons, James (Michele) Cooley and Patrick (Carol) Cooley; eight grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. In addition to her husband James, she was preceded in death by her parents and her only sibling, Rita Sperling.
According to Lynette’s wishes, she will be buried in Ohio beside her beloved husband Jim. Memorial services will be held in Ohio this spring and in Oregon later in the summer. Arrangements are under the care of Oberlin-Turnbull Funeral Home, Bryan.
Condolences may be sent to the family or the online guest book may be signed at www.oberlinturnbull.com