Marlene “Marci” Marie Cooper Brindza passed away on Monday, December 25, 2023, in Houston, Texas, at 52. She was born on Thursday, February 25, 1971, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Joan Phelan Cooper and Paul Ervin Cooper. She was raised in Metairie, LA, and was a resident of Memphis, TN. Marlene made the best cake balls and pralines you ever tasted! She was generous and thoughtful and loved spoiling everybody she was close to. For the previous seventeen years, she worked at a family orthopedic clinic, and her passion was caring for their patients. She enjoyed dancing, baking, organizing, and road-tripping.
Marlene is survived by her husband, Marc Brindza; father, Paul Ervin Cooper; sisters, Darlene Pagani (twin) and Renee Stewart; sisters-in-law, Katherine Schrader and Susan Sanders; brothers-in-law, Jason Pagani and Larry Schrader; niece, Stella Rosalie Pagani; nephews, Duncan Stewart, Connor Stewart, Davis Childers, and Griffin Childers; Godson, Mi-
Marlene “Marci”
Marie Cooper Brindza
chael Palasch; aunts, Linda Morvant, Jeanie Phelan, Joan Vicknair, Helen Martin, and Lucille Kerr; uncle, Jim Stephenson; cousins, Melanie Hinkle (Mark and Maci), Irby Morvant Jr. (Allyson, Amelia, Thomas, and Natalie), John Edward Phelan, Natalie Schliem (Todd, Jacob, and Sophia), Matthew Phelan (Tisha, Grace, Julie, Maggie, and Matthew), April Duhe (Eddie), Jan Childress (Keith, Taylor, and Kaitlyn), and Allen Austin Vicknair (Ashley); and best friend, Darnell Palasch.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Joan Phelan Cooper; grandparents, Gleisner (John Sr) and Marie Centanni Phelan, Austin M. and Rosalie Mathis Cooper, and Clifton J. Stephenson; aunt, Nancy Korn; uncles, Gleisner “Guy” Phelan, Irby Morvant Sr., and Allen Vicknair; parents-in-law, Edward and Marie Brindza; and cousin, Stacy Phelan.
A visitation will be held on Saturday, January 13, 2024, from 9:00am - 3:00pm, with services afterward at Harry McKneely & Son Funeral Home in Ponchatoula, LA, and burial at Cooper Cemetery in Robert, LA afterward: Harry McKneely & Son Funeral Home 100 W. Magnolia St. Ponchatoula, LA 70454 (985) 386-6580 https://www.harrymckneely.com Floral Arrangements are available from: Especially for You Florist (985) 370-0445 www.efyfloral.com In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Marlene’s honor: www.lls.org A memorial service will be held in Memphis, TN, at a location and date to be announced.