Karin Elizabeth Cooper

Karin Cooper, 53, of Jacksonville, Florida passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 8, 2014. Karin was born in Buffalo, NY on December 9, 1960. She was the daughter of the late Pamela Rial Olney and Mo Cody. A graduate of Orchard Park High School and Canton College, Karin went on to become a professional figure skater and coach and toured with Holiday on Ice in Europe in the 1980s. She will long be remembered for her kindness, creativity, compassion for others, love for animals and her wonderful sense of humor.

She was preceded in death by her mother , Pamela (1937-2013), father Mo, her younger brother William Ryan Olney (1976-2003) and her beloved dog Cody. She is survived by her loving family members in Pennsylvania and Florida: her younger sister Hilary Olney Eberle and husband Chuck, nephews Justin Bariletto, Jacob Eberle, Ryan Eberle, Brady Eberle, and niece Megan Eberle; cousin TJ Welk, his wife Charlene, their children Warren Welk, Sean and Linda Welk, and their granddaughter Samantha Welk; cousin Bill Welk; and loving boyfriend Chris Miller. The family is having a private memorial service in Florida to honor Karin's memory, and a burial service in Lake Placid, NY this summer in honor of Karin and her mother Pamela. Family visitation is being held at the Eberle home on 128 Portmarnock Drive in Avondale, PA on Wednesday, June 11th from 6PM-9PM. Like her mother Pamela, Karin loved both flowers and figure skating. Flowers will be accepted for the Pennsylvania and Florida families.

Pennsylvania - Eberle family:

128 Portmarnock Drive

Avondale, PA 19311

Florida - Welk family:

9749 Eisenhower Road

Jacksonville, FL 32246

In lieu of flowers charitable donations in Karin's name can be made to the U.S. Figure Skating Association's Memorial Fund (http://www.usfsa.org/content.asp?menu=donate&id=125#howtogive).

Karin lived her life with a free spirit, lots of love, and an open heart. She hand wrote this poem for her family members as a Christmas gift for them - 12/25/2000:

Open Heart

‘To dare yourself, to give freely,

take a chance on another, takes an Open Heart.

To face hurt, embarrassment or loss, takes an Open Heart.

To cry openly, share a secret or fantasy,

takes an Open Heart. To forgive others as you

have forgiven yourself, takes an Open Heart.

To share the best you can be for anothers sake,

takes an Open Heart. For all these and more

I am so thankful for your Open Heart’ ~ Karin Cooper