Nettie Elizabeth Cook-Dove

When Nettie Elizabeth Cook-Dove was watching a Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls game on television, you knew not to interrupt -- unless Barack Obama was on another station.

Cook-Dove -- a veteran Miami-Dade County educator, Christ the King Catholic Church mover-and-shaker and six-decade pillar of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority -- was such a passionate Obama supporter that voting for him by absentee ballot was among her last earthly acts.

Knowing that pancreatic cancer would soon take her life, her family photographed Cook-Dove signing the ballot and sealing the envelope on Oct. 19, at home in Richmond Heights. It was mailed, and she died five days later, at 85.

A Miami-Dade County elections spokeswoman said her vote will count.

A lifelong promoter of academic and social achievement for youngsters of color -- a stickler for good manners, grammar and enunciation -- Cook-Dove saw in the biracial presidential candidate the fulfillment of her generation's dreams for its heirs.

In a letter to him last March -- check enclosed -- she wrote, ``I am so proud of you because you are standing tall and demonstrating that you are a gentleman, intelligent and strong in your beliefs.''

A product of the segregated South, Cook-Dove and her peers ''never thought they'd have an opportunity to see something like this happen in a lifetime,'' said daughter Beverly Dove-Ross, of Richmond, Va. 'She kept saying that [mudslinging] doesn't matter: `We cannot be moved.' ''

NATIVE FLORIDIAN

Nettie Cook was born in Fernandina Beach in 1923, brought up by aunts and her grandfather, a teacher, after her mother died when she was 10.

She met her future husband, Joshua K. Dove II, in the fourth grade. They became sweethearts at Fernandina's Peck High School -- a pioneering academic institution for black students -- and married in 1947.

She was wrapping up a book, entitled Peck High: You've Made Our Dreams Come True, when she died.

Cook-Dove earned degrees from Florida A&M University and Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., and a doctorate from Union Institute in Cincinnati.

An accomplished ''soul food'' cook who loved hosting family gatherings, she held a bachelor's degree in home economics and once considered becoming a dietitian.

She spent most of her professional career teaching science in the Miami-Dade County schools: the old Mays High School in Goulds, and at Killian and South Dade, retiring in 1985 as an administrator.

TWO GREAT LOVES

Her husband, a middle and elementary school teacher, also retired that year. His death in 1998 ended a great romance, their children said.

''A major piece of her life was missing,'' said son Kenneth Dove of Miami. ``They loved to dance together and they looked great together. They were in sync.''

''Teaching was second nature to her,'' added daughter Ingrid Dove, of Atlanta. 'Momma was successful in getting [students'] parents involved. She always believed [students] could do well; they just needed someone to give them the tools to succeed.''

A peak moment came in 1963, when Mays student Lee M. Brown, became one of the first black winners of the Miami Herald's Silver Knight award -- in science.

Many of Cook-Dove's ''extracurriculars'' were aimed at broadening youngsters' intellectual, spiritual and cultural experiences.

She established the Orita ceremony at her church, which daughter Beverly described as an ``opportunity for young black men to be welcomed into Christian adulthood. They learn about the value of community service, managing a family budget, citizenship, Bible study and reflection.''

LED CHURCH WOMEN

She was chosen president of the Council of Catholic Women in the 1960s, a major accomplishment for a minority at the time, and was appointed to the Miami archdiocese's Synod Preparation Commission on Christian Services.

A member of Delta Sigma Theta since pledging at FAMU in 1943, Cook-Dove served two terms as president of the Miami Alumnae Chapter.

The current chapter president, Regina Grace Giles, said that ''to her last breath'' Cook-Dove participated. She led the chapter toward 'the arts and culture, and doing whatever we could do to enhance our childrens' understanding of our heritage.''

She also initiated the Orita ceremony for young women through the sorority's debutante program, Giles said.

When she could no longer drive to functions, she'd work the phones at home, Giles said.

'If Nettie called, it was not likely you would say no: `Would you like to purchase a table for the scholarship dance?' She would sit at her kitchen tables and write letters soliciting support.''

Her proudest accomplishment was rearing her children: all colleged-educated professionals.

''She did her best, and she'd want us to live the legacy she started,'' son Kenneth said. ``We would feel the repercussions if we didn't.''

In addition to her children, Nettie Cook-Dove is survived by her sister, Laura Lee Cook, who lived with her. Funeral services will be held at St. John Neumann Roman Catholic Church, 12125 SW 107th Ave., at 10 a.m. Friday, with burial at Woodlawn Park South.