Obituary of Connie Irene Shoop

Connie Shoop Connie Shoop, of Girard, passed peacefully into the Kingdom of God on Sunday March 9, 2025, following a five-year long struggle with dementia. Born 80 years ago in Sharon, PA, Connie began dancing at the age of 3 in Mercer County. She enjoyed many years of tap & ballet lessons, baton twirling and cheerleading at Reynolds High School in Transfer, before discovering her real passion as an adult, ballroom dancing. Her desire to learn took her from coast to coast for coaching from some of the most prominent professional dancers in the country. For more than 30 years, until her illness, she taught ballroom and swing dancing in Erie and Meadville. It was the joy of her life! Her hundreds of students through the years are her dancing legacy. She also operated Connie’s Custom Interiors in Meadville. In both, her goal was bringing joy to the people she served. In 1999, she met a man who would be her dance partner for life, Mike “Lou Baxter” Shoop, an Erie TV & Radio personality. Together they formed a dance and life partnership. Having met on a dance floor, their first date was the first of many dances at Conneaut Lake Park’s Dreamland Ballroom, where they often enjoyed sitting on the porch of the Hotel Conneaut. They were married on that porch in October 2005. Over the years, they traveled the world together, visiting and dancing in many interesting places, from the Cambridge Springs laundromat to cruise ships and exotic islands. Connie is survived by her husband; daughter Wendy (Dave) Eddy, and grandson Wade Eddy of Torrance California. She is also survived by her step-children Tara (Pat) Durkin of Conneaut Lake; Joshua (Charlea) Shoop of Wishram WA; Adam (Nena) Shoop of Saegertown; Brandon Shoop of Meadville; and nine step-grandchildren. She is also survived by her very special brother and sister-in-law, Al and Robin Kunz of Erie; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her 14-year-old grandson Wyatt Eddy of Torrance, CA; her parents Irene Whitecotton and Fred Manville; brothers Fred Manville of Conneaut Lake and Ronald Manville of Seabring, Ohio; and dear friends Connie Bossard of Townville, and Helen Carr of Meadville. Connie and her family especially acknowledge Dawn Marie Popovich for her love and care during the years of her health challenges from dementia. Also, thanks to Cathy Markham and Mary Ann Benacci. Friends may call the Dusckas-Martin Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 4216 Sterrettania Rd. on Sunday, March 16, 2025, from 2 pm until 5 pm and are invited to Fairview Presbyterian Church, 4264 Avonia Rd, Fairview on Monday, March 17, 2025, at 10 am for the Funeral Service. Interment Wintergreen Gorge Cemetery. Connie was an organ donor and her family requests in lieu of flowers remembrances be made to the Center for Organ Recovery and Education in Pittsburgh at www.CORE.org.