Coop: Gone But Never Forgotten

I can't believe it has been three years since Mark Cooper (Coop) passed away. He had been pretty sick for a while, but I had just spoken with him three or four days before. He said he was hoping to be back at work by Labor Day. Sadly, that never happened.

Mark Cooper was one of a kind. And a kind one of a kind at that. When he first came to town in the mid '90s, we became pretty quick friends.

We both shared a love of radio and music. We both liked to party. He loved my boyfriend Bobby, and he often came out to see him perform music. He would hang at our house, and Coop and Bobby would get into deep, intelligent conversations.

He met Nona and fell in love, and we loved her too. And life happened. Coop got fired, we grew apart. Then he got hired back. And we worked in together on and off for close to 20 years before we became morning show partners.

As partners, we got along well. We started to renew our friendship and we were having a lot of fun. I knew he had some health issues to overcome, and I was a big pain in his ass when it came to making him take care of himself.

He lost his health battles, but not before he enriched the lives of everyone around him. He was a great father, husband, and friend. And we are all better off for knowing him.

Rest in peace, Coop. We love and miss you.