Louisa Cooper Obituary

LOUISA BIDDLE SINCLAIR COOPER Louisa Biddle Sinclair Cooper passed away peacefully on June 2, 2025, surrounded by her four children. Louisa was born July 24, 1931 in Honolulu. The daughter of William Taylor Sinclair of Leith, Scotland and Mary Lydia Barrette of San Francisco, she spent the first ten years of her life in Lanikai on Oahu and attended Punahou School in Honolulu. In 1942 the family moved to a farm in Mount Vernon where they lived for a year before moving to Palo Alto, California. Louisa attended University of California at Berkeley where she met her future husband George Witter. Married in 1952, they settled in South Pasadena and raised four children. Louisa and George separated in 1967, prompting her to take her children on a two-year educational adventure, traveling through England and settling near Geneva, Switzerland in a small village outside of Nyon. In 1976, she married Clifford Cooper. They resided on Balboa Island and in San Juan Capistrano until the lure of the islands was too strong to ignore. Returning to Lanikai in 1982, Louisa and Cliff lived out their lives on Oahu. An avid gardener and designer, she brought beauty and light to every house and garden she lived in and created spaces for her large family to gather every year. One of the great joys in Louisa's life was painting. After receiving a B.A. in Studio Art from UC Irvine, Louisa began a long career as an oil painter. She was a member of the California Art Club and the Plein Air Painters of Hawaii for many years and was most recently active with the Windward Wanderers on Oahu, joining them for plein air gatherings well into her 90s. Louisa was predeceased by her parents, brother Robert Sinclair and sister Lydia Sloan, and her husband Cliff Cooper. She is survived by her children Martha Witter (John Simons), George Witter (Laurie Hannah), Elizabeth Witter, and Jim Witter (Carole Carere); eight grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. All those who knew her are luckier for itshe will be missed.