Reine Monroe Cooper
Reine Monroe Cooper
Reine Monroe Cooper, 77, Vista, CA - died on May 15, 2026 at home with her son Owen Cooper at her side.
Reine was born on June 17, 1948 in San Francisco, CA to parents James C. Monroe and Mildred Esther Sommerfield and spent most of her early years with her family in Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach.
Reine worked as a real estate agent in several areas of Los Angeles and San Diego county before later holding a career as a teacher for elementary and middle school in Vista and Oceanside, CA. She was married to Ritchie S. Cooper from 1977 to 1993. Together they raised three children in Vista and shared custody after their divorce.
Reine was known by all to extend her kindness, her help, and her home to family, friends, and to others she felt were in need. She was a regular donor to charities for veterans, disadvantaged children, state and national parks and she was an activist in her local community fighting against city planning that would harm existing property owners.
In addition to being a life-long dancer, Reine loved the outdoors and the ocean and found great peace and fulfillment in gardening, landscaping and traveling, always active and ambitious even in her older years. In addition to numerous other home projects, in her retirement she spent much of her time converting her front yard into a personal vineyard and winery. Along with various other trips and cruises through her life, she took a wild solo road trip to and from Alaska through the Yukon with just her dog in an RV at the age of 71. She loved to hike up Mt. Whitney throughout her life, and even planned to do it once more for her 80th birthday before she was afflicted with ALS, a terminal illness.
Reine is predeceased by her parents, her brothers Matthew Monroe, Mitchell Monroe, Marshall Monroe and Walker Monroe, her sister Daphne Throne and her son Dylan Monroe Cooper.
She is survived by her three adult children Owen Cooper, Mia Cooper, and Shelly Brown, three grandchildren L.J. Brown, Madison Brown and Tessa Martinez, brother Nicholas Monroe and his three children Jasper, Hannah and Tobias, sister Maracara Brachmann and her two children Mitchell and Jack, and brother Jason Monroe and his daughter Alaina.
Her smile, her compassion, her dancing, her persevering energy and sense of adventure will be dearly missed by her family and friends.
A portion of Reine’s ashes will be interned and memorialized at Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside, CA.
A Celebration of Life taking place at Reine’s home will be planned for later this year, with a private announcement to come.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks to please consider donating to one or more of the following:
The ALS Association
National Park Foundation
California State Parks Foundation
Wounded Warrior Project
Disabled Veterans of America
Feed the Children
