Graveside Services for Brenda Kaye Cooper Kiker, 69, of Glen Allan will be at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, March 17, 2025 at Greenfield Cemetery in Glen Allan, Mississippi. She went to be with her Lord and Savior on March 13, 2025, surrounded by family and friends. Officiating will be Jay Johnson, Jimmy McLendon and Jeremy Grantham.
Kaye was born on July 18, 1955, the daughter of Mary Elizabeth Kent Cooper and Walter Hasie Cooper (Okie). She spent her childhood and early adult years in Greenville and Glen Allan, Mississippi and Monticello, Arkansas. She attended Mississippi Delta Community College in Moorhead.
While riding the student bus to Moorhead, she and the bus driver, James William Kiker (Jimmy) met, fell in love, and were married in Delta City on January 20, 1975.
Kaye was an excellent business manager and worked for the United States Forest Service until her retirement in 2018. The firefighters were always happy when Kaye was on the job because they never had to wait long for their fire duty pay! She made many friends while working at the forest service and often recounted memories of them all. In addition to the forest service, Kaye worked for Avon Gin for many years. After retirement, Kaye kept records for the Hollingsworth farm and worked part-time for Robert Burford, CPA.
She was preceded in death by her husband Jimmy, father Okie, nephew Dusty Cooper, and numerous aunts and uncles.
Left to cherish her memories are her son, Jay (Dawn) Kiker; beloved granddaughters, Holley Beth and Ansley Kiker; her mother, Mary Elizabeth Cooper; sister, Mary Ann Cooper, sisters-in-law, Teresa Kiker, Myra Kiker and Nora Sheetz; aunts, Katie (Charles) Evers, Judy Cooper, Marilyn (Don) Dunaway, Carolyn Cochran and too many cousins and friends to list.
Special thanks to her best friends Nancy Jones and Cheryl Lafoe for their hospital vigils and lifelong friendships. Special thanks to Latisha and James Kent for their care for Mary Elizabeth.
A first cousin in California, Patricia Watson, described Kaye to a “t” when she wrote: “In this world there are people who are the true heart of their families…. These wonderful people keep us together…my dear cousin Kaye Cooper Kiker was a family linchpin…”
Pallbearers are Wayne Cooper, Bubba Cooper, James Kent, George Kent, David Cochran, Ryan Cooper, Macon LaFoe and Jim Newsom. Honorary Pallbearers are Dewey Cooper and Larry Moore
The family thanks all for the sincere prayers during this time. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to K-love Radio, Avon United Methodist Church, or a charity of choice.