Mary Joanne Cooner

Mary Joanne Mayne Cooner passed away on December 3, 2018 in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was born October 26, 1927 in Chidester, Arkansas, to the late Beulah Ray Purifoy and Joseph Ford Mayne. She grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas where she attended Little Rock High School. She attended Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts and graduated with a major in Latin American Studies. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Walter Jordan Cooner Sr., to whom she was married for 49 years. In their early years of marriage, during which Walter served as an Air Force officer, they lived in Japan, Hawaii and six states. Upon returning to Little Rock, she earned her teaching credentials and began teaching at The Cathedral School. For 27 years, she taught scores of third and fourth grade students, many of whom are now leaders in Arkansas business, politics, agriculture and religion. She and Walter enjoyed many worldwide travels, dancing, and entertaining. She was a kind, elegant woman who was an avid bridge player, voracious reader, a grammar expert and a lover of history. She is survived by her three sons, Walter Jordan Cooner, Jr. and his wife, Sara, of Clifton, Va.; Joseph Mayne Cooner of Dallas. Texas; and Dr. Leslie Purifoy Cooner and his wife, Alice, of Little Rock; her five grandchildren, Joanne Elyse Cooner, Zachary Mayne Cooner, William Purifoy Cooner, Thomas Hudgens Cooner, and Caroline Jordan Cooner. Visitation will be held Thursday, December 6 from 4-6 p.m. at Ruebel Funeral Home, 6313 West Markham Street in Little Rock. After a private burial, funeral services will be at 12 noon on Friday, December 7, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 310 West 17th Street, Little Rock, Ark. 72206. www.ruebelfuneralhome.com.