Teresa "Terry" Yingling Cooper, 45, of Wadsworth, Ohio, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2006.

She was born Dec. 26, 1960, in Philipsburg, PA.

Terry graduated from Stow High School in 1979 where she was not only an excellent student but a gifted athlete as well. Her childhood athletic passion was for fast-pitch softball that she continued into high school. She earned All Metro League Honors several times as shortstop for her beloved Stow High Bulldogs Varsity Softball team.

Terry played on several elite traveling softball teams during the summers of her high school years and competed in tournaments all around the United States and Canada. She was awarded an athletic scholarship to play softball for Kent State University but had her softball career cut short by a knee injury.

Terry's knee injury proved to be a gateway to her professional career. She set her sights on helping others recovering from injuries.

She studied at Kent State University, Cleveland State University and graduated from Stark State University in 1984 with high honors as a state licensed physical therapist assistant.

During her college years she also worked summers for both the Stow and Cuyahoga Falls YMCA's providing children with a variety of sports and recreation activities.

She successfully practiced physical therapy professionally in a variety of settings that included hospitals, nursing homes, home health care and private practice for 21 years. She was employed over her career at Barberton Citizens Hospital, Edwin Shaw Hospital, Ferrell-Whited Physical Therapy and most recently at PRN Therapy Services based in Tallmadge.

Terry also served the City of Wadsworth part time for 10 years as a fitness center supervisor at the recreation department's Steiner Center. She used her therapy skills to teach hundreds of Wadsworth adults to safely and properly exercise.

Terry had a life-long interest in bicycling. She rode her bicycles thousands of miles over her lifetime.

Her passion for cycling included long bicycle trips with her husband, David. They cycled from Wadsworth to Michigan and many other destinations around the State of Ohio. They also competed as a team in several duathlons and bike races.

She also had shared her love of cycling with many friends as well as with her sister, Marie, and friend, Connie. Terry even worked for a period of time at a Wadsworth Bicycle Shop and shared her knowledge and passion for riding with customers.

An accomplished artist and crafter, Terry painted custom designs on T-shirts and clothing for family members and friends. She also over the past several years became an accomplished jewelry maker. Her creations for family and friends included unique necklaces, bracelets and rings.

Terry had a major soft spot in her heart for her beagles Molly and Ruby. They were her constant and faithful companions and they will be lost without her. It's no coincidence that she chose beagles as her pets and collected Snoopy memorabilia. She often pointed out that Snoopy was a shortstop, the position she played as well.

Terry loved God, her family, pets, friends, ice cream, birthday cake, dark chocolate and crazy looking socks. Honor her memory by sharing one or all of the above with someone you love and think of her fondly.

Terry is survived by her husband of 21 years David of Wadsworth; her parents, William and Margaret Yingling of Meridian; a sister, Marie, of Butler; a brother-in-law, Brian (Amy) Cooper and their son and Terry's nephew, Samuel Cooper, of Stow; and many aunts, uncles and cherished friends.

<B>COOPER</B> — The family of Teresa "Terry" Yingling Cooper, who died Sunday, Sept. 3, 2006, will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the <B>Hilliard-Mullaney-Rospert Funeral Home</B>, 174 N. Lyman St., Wadsworth, Ohio. The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Ellet Community Church, 2700 Priscilla Ave., Akron, Ohio, with Mr. Grant Luton officiating.In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Terry's name to the Medina County Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), P.O. Box 135, Medina, OH 44258 and/or NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of Medina County, 3491 Rohrer Road, Wadsworth, OH 44281.