Thursday, October 28, 2021
Dear Don & family of Phyllis Cooper,
I am deeply saddened to read about Phyllis’s passing but I am incredibly happy to have made her acquaintance in the summer of 1985. We met on a course of study at the Université de Grenoble, France. We became travelling buddies on weekends along with another lady from Switzerland, all 3 of us French teachers. There was one weekend in particular that I will always remember (and there were a few!) We spent an evening in Cluny near a Benedictine Abbey, founded in 910. This place rapidly became the most powerful place in Christendom after the papacy. The three of us wandered over to explore the interior, unfettered by tourists or tour guides back then. It was here that Phyllis decided to test the acoustics and treated us to a solo performance of Ave Maria, in a chapel partly in ruins. Needless to say it was a singularly remarkable and yet quiet non-event. Only the best kind! Phyllis clearly left her mark in the world and inspired many as a teacher of French and of life. She has now joined a special choir on high. Sing and be free, dear Phyllis. And thank you for your friendship and your gift of music during my 1st solo summer abroad.
