NEWS
In Memoriam: Patricia M. Cooke
Patricia M. Cooke
Patricia M. Cooke (Grammy) of Davidson, North Carolina, and West Chatham, Massachusetts, was born September 25,1934 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Ruth Creasy Ambrose and Louis Charles Ambrose. She lived in Pennsylvania until 1956, attending schools in Wyalusing, Towanda, and Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania.
After graduation from Tunkhannock High School, she attended Marywood College, Leslie College, Florida State University, William Paterson College, and Wilson College, where she earned a B.A. degree.
On moving to New Jersey in 1956 she earned a master’s degree in teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University and was a member of Phi Lambda Theta Honor Society. She was employed by the East Orange Board of Education and Hanover Township Board of Education, where she taught grades two through eight, as well as in the special education and gifted/talented programs.
In 2021, Mrs. Cooke moved from New Jersey to The Pines in Davidson, where she was a member of The Pinetones choral ensemble. She continued spending summers in her favorite place, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which she often referred to as her home.
Mrs. Cooke was predeceased by her husband of 49 years, George H. Cooke. She is survived by three children, Deborah (Eric) Kleinsorgen of Troutman, North Carolina, Douglas Cooke of Wellsburg, West Virginia, and Cynthia Cooke, of Chester, New Jersey, and two grandchildren, Allyson, and Jackie Kleinsorgen.
Mrs. Cooke was a member, choir member, elder, Bible study member, and guest speaker of the Hildale Park Presbyterian Church. Additionally, she was a choir member, liturgist, and member of Music for Summer Night audition committee, Lobster Roll Dinner committee, and Strawberry Festival programs of the United Methodist Church in Chatham, Massachusetts, and Chatham Memoir Workers.
She was a member of the New Jersey and Massachusetts Board of Realtors.
In Mrs. Cooke’s retirement she was an active volunteer with Broad Reach Hospice, VNA Hospice, Volunteers of Morris Country, Chatham Center for Older Adults, Greens Interfaith Homeless Prevention Council, and Habitat for Humanity.
Mrs. Cooke passed away on April 11, 2023, in Davidson, surrounded by all her children. There will be a Memorial Service at Hildale Park Presbyterian Church in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey at a later date.