17th Annual Prayer and Celebration Day Celebration to honor founder of Trinity Heights

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
June 12, 2008

Nestled between three evergreen trees with the 30-foot stainless steel statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary as its backdrop, the latest addition at Trinity Heights will soon find its home.

The life-size bronze statue of Father Harold Cooper, who was the visionary behind the Trinity Heights Development, will be placed near the Mound of Mary just in time for the 17th Annual Prayer and Celebration Day Banquet on June 29. The statue is being crafted by Dale Lamphere, creator of the Mary statue, the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue and other works of art at Trinity Heights.

"This particular prayer and celebration day will be built around recognition of Father Cooper as the founder," noted Beanie Cooper, executive director of Trinity Heights. "Without him, this (Trinity Heights) would not have happened."

The late Father Harold Cooper, Beanie's brother, died Sept. 1, 2007.

The celebration on June 29 will kick off with an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Visitors are invited to tour the grounds of Trinity Heights and see the recently completed Moses shrine, with the Ten Commandments that were set in place this spring.

At 3 p.m., Bishop R. Walker Nickless will bless and dedicate the statue of Father Cooper.

The celebration and recognition of Father Cooper will continue at 5:30 p.m. with a banquet at the Sioux City Convention Center.

Father Cooper, then pastor of St. Joseph Church in Sioux City, conceived the idea of bringing a statue to Sioux City in the early 1980s after he had seen a 30-foot stainless steel stature of Mary at a parish in Santa Clara, Calif. That visit motivated Father Cooper to form a non-profit corporation called the Queen of Peace Apostolate, which was incorporated on May 20, 1985.

"He had a great devotion to Mary," recalled Beanie.

At that point, prayer stepped up a notch. Father Cooper and a small, devoted group of people would gather daily at 4 p.m. for the rosary on the grounds of the original Trinity College and High School.

There were more than a few times when Beanie told his older brother that he was "nuts," but the priest's persistence and prayer paid off. Two years after praying the rosary daily at the site, they were able to purchase the land at a fraction of the original asking price.

"He always believed that it would happen," said Beanie, who also credited the persistence and dedication of Dr. Paul Wolpert for helping Father Cooper's dream come true.

Funding for Mary was organized in 1988 and on Dec. 16, 1992, the 30-foot stainless steel statue of the Immaculate Heart was placed on the Mound of Mary.

Dr. Ken Roach, who joined the board in the early 1990s, came to know Father Cooper after providing veterinary care to the priest's dog.

"We became very close friends," noted the vet. In the early years of the development, he helped move dirt and stones with his tractor.

Dr. Roach called the priest a visionary. He became involved in one of the priest's other significant dreams - bringing Catholic radio to Sioux City.

"Both of the visions he had came to fruition, he got people involved that wanted to make things happen," said Dr. Roach, who serves as the secretary/treasurer of KFHC - named in honor of Father Harold Cooper. The new station, located at 88.1 on the FM dial, hit the airwaves on Feb. 5.

Beanie said the same energy and persistence that went into Trinity Heights was witnessed at the Catholic radio station.

"The remarkable thing about Father Cooper was that he could visualize things before any of the rest of us could," stressed Dr. Roach. "He truly was a visionary. I can't think that I've ever met anyone in my life that was an equal. I think he had the Holy Spirit riding on his shoulder all of the time."

Board member Marge Stanek of Sioux City became involved in the project in the late 1980s when the land was purchased.

"I knew him long before that from the St. Joseph School Board and from his work with many moral issues," she said. "I was well acquainted with his spiritual and active role in the community. I thought he had a dimension to him that was far beyond just being at a parish level."

Like the priest, Stanek also has a love of the Blessed Mother, especially Our Lady of Fatima.

"I would help him plan events and he joined Siouxland Right to Life," she said. "He always defended the unborn and he worked against pornography."

She described him as an activist. In addition to life issues, Father Cooper was involved in various social justice matters. For instance, she noted that the priest started the first soup kitchen in the city at St. Joseph's rectory.

Stanek, who was the driving force behind the Circle of Life at Trinity Heights, admired Father Cooper's strong leadership on many moral issues.

"Father Cooper was instrumental in promoting the Circle of Life as part of our mission," she said.

Through the years the development grew.

"Rather than being planned, things just seemed to happen," Beanie said. "We attribute it to Mary orchestrating things."

After the Circle of Life Memorial was placed in 1994, Jerry Traufler's Last Supper wood carving and the St. Joseph Center came in 1995. The outdoor cathedral and Adoration Chapel preceded the 33-foot stainless steel statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1998. Next to Trinity Heights were the Marian shrines, Way of the Saints and the pond and stream with the statue of St. Francis of Assisi.

"Over a five-year period, we have an average of 130,000 each year from all 50 states and last year we had 28 foreign countries," said Beanie, who called it a great resource for Catholic schools and parish religious education programs. Numerous Protestant youth groups also visit.

While attending the open house on June 29 along with seeing the sights at Trinity Heights, people will have the chance to inquire about the St. Anthony's Senior Housing project. Nine of 12 homes are built and occupied. The final three homes are in the process and being built and two of those are still available for purchase.

If people wish to purchase tickets for the banquet, they can contact the business office at Trinity Heights at (712) 239-8670.