(From Greenfield Funeral Chapel)Fernita Lorabelle Cook was born in Greenfield, MO, on November 9, 1926, and passed to eternal health and happiness from her residence in Independence, MO, on October 24, 2022. We who survive her are nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents William A.J. “Jack” and Mary Rebecca “Becky” (Cooper) Cook, brother Clyde Cook, and sisters Lorraine (Cook) Scott and Mary Lee (Cook) Shurigar.
She loved learning, knowledge, travel, and adventure; and all of us. She earned a Bachelor of Philosophy, June 14, 1969, and a Master of Arts, August 31, 1972, from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
I'm not certain how many miles she traveled between Chicago and anyplace that had a theatre featuring a Shakespearean play - London at the Globe, Canada at the Stratford-on-Avon in Ontario, and Portland, Oregon, that features a play a year. She loved opera and encouraged that love in most of us. She enjoyed classical music and museums and art. But she also enjoyed a good romance novel - one of my favorites she gave me for Christmas one year.
She worked for Illinois Bell after moving to Chicago sometime in the early 1950s. During her tenure with the Bell System, she took an assignment with American Bell International, stationed in Tehran, Iran, in January of 1978. She was a translator and manual developer as Iran was setting up telephone communications. She was on Christmas leave back here in Missouri during December 1978, when the Iranian Revolution uprising began in Tehran. The group she was traveling with returning to work in Tehran were stopped in Amsterdam and sent back to the United States. Much of the staff lost most of their belongings except what they had put in storage here before going to work overseas or had with them.
She and her sisters were very proud of the military heritage of the Cooper-Cook family, and were all members of Daughters of the Revolution (DAR) (9th generation descendants). Because they were related by blood to each other and several other DAR members they were part of the Cameo Society.
Retirement from Illinois Bell brought her back to Greenfield and home. She became a member of the Dade County Historical Society and was involved in several projects in the area including the Hulston Mill and some restorations around Greenfield. She was active in her church, and frequently enjoyed the lunch gatherings at the Community Senior Center.
She worked for Illinois Bell after moving to Chicago sometime in the early 1950s. During her tenure with the Bell System, she took an assignment with American Bell International, stationed in Tehran, Iran, in January of 1978. She was a translator and manual developer as Iran was setting up telephone communications. She was on Christmas leave back here in Missouri during December 1978, when the Iranian Revolution uprising began in Tehran. The group she was traveling with returning to work in Tehran were stopped in Amsterdam and sent back to the United States. Much of the staff lost most of their belongings except what they had put in storage here before going to work overseas or had with them.
She and her sisters were very proud of the military heritage of the Cooper-Cook family, and were all members of Daughters of the Revolution (DAR) (9th generation descendants). Because they were related by blood to each other and several other DAR members they were part of the Cameo Society.
Retirement from Illinois Bell brought her back to Greenfield and home. She became a member of the Dade County Historical Society and was involved in several projects in the area including the Hulston Mill and some restorations around Greenfield. She was active in her church, and frequently enjoyed the lunch gatherings at the Community Senior Center.
Fernita’s family would like to express their gratitude for the care she received in the last few weeks of her life from Three River’s Hospice.
Her family asks that, per Fernita’s wishes, instead of flowers, donations be made in her honor to, either Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, to assistance with maintenance cost at (Old Baptist) Pleasant Grove Cemetery, or to Three Rivers Hospice in care of the funeral chapel.
Currently, plans are for a Celebration of Life Memorial service to be held sometime next summer at Greenfield Funeral Chapel. More information will be distributed as time and place are known. Online condolences may be shared at www.greenfieldfuneralchapel.com. Services are under the care of Greenfield Funeral Chapel.
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