Lynnwood accident victim remembered for her love of laughter

LYNNWOOD — Sadness made Janelle Cooper uncomfortable.

The Scriber Lake High School sophomore had a knack for coaxing smiles and laughter from even the most reluctant.

She teased teachers and administrators with the same quirky humor she used to charm her many friends.

“She was just about as spunky as she could be,” assistant principal Dawn Hart said. “She could be looking at you, listening to what you were saying — and all the sudden she’d come up with some funny, off-the-wall thing to say and her eyes would shine. When I think about her, I think about all of life coming through her eyes. They would just shine.”

Janelle died Friday night when a truck jumped a curb and hit her as she walked on a Lynnwood sidewalk with a friend.

Her companion, a sophomore at Mountlake Terrace High School, is recovering at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The driver of the truck, a 32-year-old Snohomish man, and his passenger, a 26-year-old Mill Creek woman, were also taken to Harborview with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Janelle died at the scene, on the side of 164th Street SW.

Detectives continue to investigate the crash, said Snoho­mish County sheriff’s Capt. Kevin Prentiss. They’re interviewing witnesses and those who were involved, and they’re completing reports and conducting computer-assisted analyses to piece together what happened, he said.

No arrests have been made.

Bouquets of roses, a stuffed pink monkey and candles mark the spot where Janelle died. Messages scribbled by distraught friends cover five sections of the concrete overpass she was walking on.

“You traded legs for wings. Until we meet again.”

“I was lucky to know you and see the life in your eyes. I won’t ever forget. God bless you.”

“I refuse to let you die!!! You will live 4ever in our hearts!”

Among her friends, Janelle, 16, was the operator, her mom, Coleen Cooper, said. She kept tabs on everyone and friends would call her to find out what others were up to.

“She knew where everyone was and what they were doing,” Cooper said.

Cooper described her only daughter as headstrong and quick to laugh. She was a free spirit who loved snowboarding, playing paintball and riding on ATV-style off-road motorcycles. The Lynnwood girl also enjoyed camping, playing sports and boating with her brother, Joshua Cooper, 19, and her dad, Gary Cooper, who lives in West Covina, Calif.

She broke both of her arms a few times in various mishaps, including a fall off a curb and a slip while she was wearing shoes with wheels.

Born on Halloween, Janelle always celebrated the holiday with vigor.

“We knew from the day she was born that she was going to use that as an excuse to have a really good party every year,” her mom said. “She loved it because she felt that everyone was celebrating and dressing up for her birthday.”

As a child, she put on elaborate costumes and went trick-or-treating with her brother. When he was Dracula, she was Dracula’s bride. One year, they wore matching soldier costumes.

She adored her brother and believed everything he said. He used to tease Janelle, insisting that she had been born with a tail, or six toes — and she’d believe him, even after her parents assured her it wasn’t so.

She was also close to her grandparents and had begged her mom to take her to Eastern Washington to visit them last weekend, but Cooper said no. Gas prices were too high.

Although Janelle had only been at Scriber Lake, an alternative school, since January, she was known as the glue that kept the school together, Hart said. Most of the school’s nearly 300 students knew her. She could find ways to connect with anyone, Hart said.

Counselors met with grieving students at Scriber Lake and Mountlake Terrace High School Tuesday. Principal Kathy Clift sent a letter home to Scriber Lake parents, telling them about the crash and asking them to support their kids.

Janelle had struggled in other schools, but was finally earning passing grades at Scriber Lake, Hart said. Her dream of marching across the stage to receive her diploma seemed within reach, she said.

On Tuesday, two of Janelle’s friends who had dropped out of school came by to re-enroll, Hart said.

They did it for Janelle.

“That’s the kind of person she was — really encouraging,” Hart said. “One of the things people are doing in honor of her is getting themselves on the right track. She did it, so they can do it too.”

Memorial on Friday

A memorial service for Janelle Cooper will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 6215 196th St. SW, Lynnwood. Everyone is welcome. Students are encouraged to bring photos or remembrances of Janelle to share.

Herald Writer Jackson Holtz contributed to this story.

Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.