The Cooper family has been hit hard with the unexpected loss of Shryl Cooper.
Shryl was married to 1981 All-Around World Champion Jimmie Cooper for 47 years. Together they lived the rodeo family life. She is the mother of National Finals Rodeo (NFR) team roping twin boys Jake and Jim, top-notch breakaway roper Jill, and she was an avid team roper herself.
At only 70 years old Shryl has been in a battle after back surgery October 29, 2025. After a successful surgery and an 11-day hospital stay, Shryl was sent home to finish her recovery. Once home Shryl experienced some swelling in her leg. The swelling was concerning enough for her to make a trip back to the hospital to get it checked out. Nothing was found after a sonogram so she was sent home again. November 17, Shryl's daughter, Jill, still felt something was off. They made the trek back to the hospital for some labs, and once again, everything appeared normal. Besides some dehydration and an empty stomach, everything else was normal. They went home and Jill said, "That night, she ate wonderfully and was full of life and her normal feistiness. We all had a wonderful night."
On November 18, Shryl had a pulmonary embolism in both lungs, which sent her into cardiac arrest. She was life-flighted to Fort Worth for surgery to remove blood clots. Unfortunately, her brain scans showed that she had been without oxygen for too long and the damage was too severe. Jill explained, "We prayed and prayed for a miracle- trusting that if it was in God's will, it would happen; and if not, we will faithfully love and honor Him no matter what." On November 26, the family made the decision to bring Shryl home for hospice care. On December 1, Shryl passed away surrounded by her loving family. Jill shared that her mom is now at home with Jesus. The rodeo community is mourning as Shryl was "home' to many and acted as the "supermom" to anyone she welcomed to her home.
Jill's message about her mother Shryl:
This world writes about worldly accomplishments and while she had some of those, I'd say the majority of her accomplishments were those of an eternal impact. I can spend all day writing about her, and I might.
Our parents harped on us growing up that the second biggest decision you'll ever make in life is deciding who you marry. The first, you better follow Jesus.
My mom, as a wife, was a spectacular creature. She was a true helper to my dad. But she was not one of those women who is silent and follows without question. Anyone who knew her knew that wasn't her. At all. She was incredibly opinionated and vocal about pretty much everything and my dad never expected her to purely submit to him on everyday matters. Good thing, because she was sassy and feisty. They wanted to be a team%u2026 and what a team they were.
They listened to each other, fought with each other, but most importantly, they CHOSE each other day after day, for 47 married years. In the hard times and the good times, they never stopped choosing each other. She also knew he was her spiritual cover and her always growing faith in Jesus allowed her to rest in this. Going through this unimaginable process, he's never stopped covering her and their children spiritually, which is exactly what she would've wanted. She knew this was the area where she could and should submit to him. What a beautiful testament to her.
And because she knew she could count on him spiritually, it let her thrive in her role as a wife and mom and follower of Jesus. And thrive she did. They fulfilled a biblical marriage and set such an example. This world tries to tell women that we have to be and can be everything. But those are lies meant to destroy families. We often talked about this. My mom was perfectly fulfilled in her biblical role as a wife and mother and grandmother and because of her, our family flourished in love. There's no greater accomplishment a woman could achieve. She was everything I hope and strive to be.
My dad says the reason it's so important (for men) who you choose to marry is because that's the woman that'll be raising your children. (And for women choose a man who will guide and cover you spiritually.) He couldn't have chosen a better woman for the job.
She was THE mom. A friend of mine recently described her as "home" and that fits perfectly. She spent her life serving her family. She was room mom, jr rodeo mom, dance mom, baseball mom, football mom, super grandma, you name it, she wore the hat. And boy, if she thought you wronged her family, she wasn't afraid to set you straight or just not like you. She was REAL. She didn't hold back. Her personality was huge and gosh, she was fun. She was loud and completely filled the rooms with fun, everyday. To know her was to love her, and if you didn't love her, she didn't want you to and she didn't care if you didn't.
Our mom was a complete rockstar as a grandma. She was the silly and fun one. She came up with games I could never even dream of%u2026 she was just fun. And she changed a million diapers%u2026 she was up for any task. I don't think we would've survived Georgia's first year without her. Mom and Dad stayed with us the first month after she was born and when they left, we loaded up the next day and followed them to New Mexico. I never stopped needing her. Cade, Callahan and Georgia were so blessed to have her. We were all blessed to have her. I see parts of her in all of them and I'm so thankful they got to know her. I can't imagine the road ahead and us not having her guidance raising them, but I hope they all get her joy for life. What a blessing that would be.
I'm struggling with this part because she was my ultimate best friend. Our friendship grew and changed over the years, but each year, we got closer and closer. The different seasons in all of our lives brought new and wonderful depths to the friendships. There's just not enough I can say to explain how we feel about her. I looked forward to seeing her every day. We all did. We bantered and picked and laughed with each other constantly. She knew when her husband, kids and grandkids needed tough love and she knew when we needed tenderness%u2026 and she was always there to give whichever it was to all of us. And oh, what a friend to others she was. If you were in her circle, she loved you fiercely. I can still hear the laughter of her and her friends in the jr. rodeo stands.
Mom and Dad moved to Stephenville early in 2022 so my dad could build Jake's arena, and they moved in with us. My grandma was also living with us at the time, so when they finished the arena, they decided this was their new home and they weren't leaving. Two of their three kids were here (Jim Ross got to come down often too), we were all loving living by and with each other, and my dad's mom was here too%u2026 this was now home. They then started building my mom's dream house a mile from us. We got to have them here in our home with us for over 3 years and I would always say I hoped their house burned down before they moved in. And I wasn't really kidding. We LOVED them living with us. We had SO many fun days, family dinners, family soccer games, etc, together the past four years and they roped almost every day over at Jake's house. We were fully submerged in wonderful, wonderful family time. It wasn't time we got just because of proximity, it was time we WANTED together because of love. I can see now how God was working and giving us LOTS of time with her leading up to this. It doesn't make it easier, but it makes us so, so thankful.
My dad has always said the first time he saw my mom, he knew he needed her in his life. I think it's safe to say we all feel that way. The life and love she brought to our family can never be replaced. We can only hope to continue it and to truly LIVE loving life and our people like she did.
I keep being reminded that she didn't belong to us, she belongs to God. And that we should be thankful for every minute we got with her, and man, we are. She wasn't just my best friend, she was a best friend to my whole family. I don't know how she did it, but she did it effortlessly. She was the life and loudness to our family. She brought joy and fun to every situation. Even when she was mad, it was entertaining. I could talk her into doing almost anything if it meant it would get a laugh or bring joy. She was game for anything. I've never known someone full of so much life and fun. I can't explain how much we will all miss the daily joy she brought to our lives.
We know she's with Jesus now. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And she loved our Lord. We're in an incredibly hard season right now, and that's ok, I think that's what happens when you deeply love someone. And we all loved her very, very deeply. I read that this separation hurts so badly because it wasn't what God intended for us before sin. We weren't meant to be separated from our loved ones. Thankfully, Jesus has overcome death for us so we will get to be with her again. That's our comfort right now.
Our lives are better because of her. Our hearts are more joyful because of her. The love and laughter she filled us with will be with us forever. And most importantly, we will be reunited again because of our faith in Jesus. She lived and loved fiercely and I don't blame God for wanting her with Him. We are so, so blessed he shared her with us. She has always been His and His she will always be.
Our mom didn't want services. If you knew her, it's so completely her to not want a fuss made over her. Instead of gathering to remember her once, let's remember her every day. Let's all live with a joy for life and love for Christ. If you don't know Jesus, get to know Him now. Repent. Follow Him. That's the absolute best way we can honor her- by getting to join her in eternal heaven through Jesus Christ.
