Floris Muriel Cooke

Floris Muriel COOKE Beloved wife, mother, grand- mother, great-grandmother, sister, sister-in-law and aunt. At 2 p.m. on March 31, 2011, in Maple Valley, Washington, Floris Muriel Cooke, 96, passed away peacefully at home with family members gathered beside her. Floris was born in Harlem, Mon tana on January 15, 1915, to Ray and Gladys Purdy, the third of six siblings. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Floris was the first mem ber of her family to graduate from high school. She met Newell Cooke through her brother the year after she graduated, when Newell's family came to Bonners Ferry from Kansas. They dated for almost a year before they were married; they were mar ried on September 28, 1935. "We got married during the Great De pression, and Grandpa Newell wasn't making much money, so he sold [a pair of] old lumber boots to buy the license with." While living in Bonners Ferry with Newell and their two small children, Velma Louise and Charles LeRay, she recalled hearing "[Roosevelt] on the radio when war was declared." The next day, Newell was sent to work at Boeing in Seattle to work on making airplanes, and the family soon followed. Floris and Newell remained close to their children for the rest of their lives. Charles had three children, Tim, Wendy and Ted, and Floris remained close to them and their children - Gwen, Cedrick, Dai Vonté, Owen, Sarah and David. Floris and Ne well were married for almost 53 years before he passed away in 1988. Their daughter Velma passed away in 1997, and Charles passed in 2005, both with Floris at their bedside. In her spare time, Floris enjoyed card games, gar dening, cooking, crossword puz zles and reading. Over the years, when Floris walked into any place, it seemed nearly every person there, whether they knew her or not, would refer to her as Grandma. She was invaluable as a devoted grandmother, a true chef, and a delightful person. Graveside services will be held Saturday, April 9th at 1 p.m. at Evergreen Washelli.