Patricia Ann Cookinham

Pat Cookinham was born in the tiny town of Ayrshire, Iowa on July 13, 1940. Her father was Glenn Cookinham of Irish ancestry and her mother was his wife, Ethyl Mason Cookinham of Norwegian ancestry. They moved to Estherville in the mid-1950s and lived on the ranch house of a farm south of Estherville.

Pat was a brilliant student and graduated near the top of her Estherville High School class. She was rated in the 99.9 percentile in both analytical and verbal skills in the National Merit Scholarship exams. Her teachers elected her to the National Honor Society as a junior. She was active as a member of the high school debate team, Bible club, Ho Lo Co, Mixed Chorus, Concert and Marching Band and Contest Speech activities for many years.

She attended college at the University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She received a BA in teaching mathematics and an Iowa Teaching Certificate in June 1962. At graduation she was at the top of her class and won several major awards.

A few weeks after graduation she married her high school sweetheart, Roger Rusch. They moved to Edwards Air Force Base where Roger served as an Air Force officer for three years. Pat worked as a secretary in the procurement office since she had outstanding secretarial skills, typing at over 100 words per minute, and taking short hand. Their son Steven was born at Edwards AFB in January 1965.

Next they moved to Orange County, California. Pat was one of the original students at the new Irvine Campus of the University of California. She received a master’s degree in theoretical Mathematics in 1968. Then they moved to Los Angeles County and Pat entered UCLA to work on a PhD in Mathematics. She completed all the class work for the doctorate but did not finish her dissertation.

The marriage to Roger Rusch was dissolved after 10 years and she changed her name back to Pat Cookinham. At this point she changed majors to psychology and attended the University of Southern California. She received her PhD in psychology in the mid 1970s.

She worked at Southern California Edison for twenty years. She worked her way up from secretarial positions to the Director of Human Resources when she retired.

She enjoyed hiking and camping with friends, especially in the Anza Borrego State Park. In June 2016 Pat had back surgery and Steve took her to his home in Benson, North Carolina. Her health began to decline with diabetes II, a tumor in her chest, and some memory issues. In late January she was moved to a Raleigh, NC, hospital because of liver problems and eventually kidney failure. Her body did not react well to dialysis and she died on the evening of March 19, 2025.

Pat was predeceased by her parents, her younger siblings, sister Becky and brother Daniel. She is survived by her son Steven John Rusch, two grandchildren Celia Ann Rusch and Cameron Roger Rusch, brother Jeff Cookinham, and sister-in-law Carol Cookinham.