Beth Preston Cook

Beth Preston Cook October 1, 1927 - March 16, 2014 Lenora Beth Preston Cook, born to Edna Ledwich Preston and Thomas Floyd Preston in Los Angeles, California, died Sunday, March 16th 2014 at the Garry J. Armstrong Long-Term Care Home at the age of 86. Pre-deceased by her husband Geoffrey, she is remembered with love by her three daughters, Nancy, Kathy and Carolyn, and their husbands Diedrich, Andrew and Randy, and her three grandchildren, Kaila, Gwyneth and Zephyr. She is survived by her brother Floyd Preston in Lawrence, Kansas and his family. Beth completed her B.A. in political science at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1949, and went to Paris on a Fulbright Scholarship before joining the US State Department. She married in 1952, and traveled with her husband and family during his 30 year career with the Foreign Service, living in Turkey, the United States, Ecuador and Spain. After they retired to Ottawa, she worked as a volunteer on many social justice issues, including affordable housing and access to community services. She was president of the Gloucester Centre for Community Resources, a long standing member of the Anglican Church Women (ACW), and a member of the Ottawa Council of Women, working at the municipal, provincial and national level for affordable housing. Her long standing commitment was to The Well-La Source, a day program for women, where she was a founding member and volunteer for more than 25 years. She has passed on her values of loyalty, commitment to family, and working hard for what you believe in to her children. We thank the staff at the Laurier Manor and Garry J. Armstrong for their wonderful care in the last years of her life. The memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 29th at Epiphany Anglican Church, 1290 Ogilvie Road. Visitation is at 10:30 am, followed by the service at 11:30 am, reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Well-La Source, 154 Somerset Street West, Ottawa.