Vera Kachanovsky Cooke

Vera Kachanovskaya Cooke was born in Stachava, a small village in South West Belarus. Her parents were Fyodor Kachanovsky and Stephanida Dubovskaya, and she had three older siblings at the time: Nadia, Walter and Julie. Vera was not even a week old when her father Fyodor had to leave and establish a new home for them all in Canada. Nearly five years later and after much effort, the rest of the family was able to join him in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Three more children were to follow in Canada: Sophia, Joseph and Joanne. (They all had Belarusian / Russian names I tried to include, but this platform doesn't display the cyrillic text).

Unfortunately, the family lost Walter to a fatal kidney illness in 1952.

Memories of Belarus were scant but she talked of dreamy visions, stone bridges and watching the black water rolling under, taking the train to meet the ship when they left, and how her Aunt, her mother’s sister Natasha, was inconsolable when she said goodbye forever to her beloved little niece and the others.

Vera only noted a brief struggle adapting to her new life at the start of school, being an unfamiliar immigrant girl who couldn’t yet speak English. She talked about going to Russian school at the Orthodox church on Saturdays, doubling and tripling up in a bed with her siblings, and the excitement around receiving second hand clothes through the depression years. (Eventually she just taught herself to sew, ultimately tailoring her own suits, stitching up evening wear and wedding dresses, quilting, and all with a perfect hand.  Her quilts are now truly the wonderful heirlooms she intended them to be.)

Her substantial photo collection from the Winnipeg era is very sunny. Even literally, you can almost feel the dry, breezy hot prairie summers. Vera and her sisters looked to be on endless outings to the country or to the local beaches. You’d think there was never a winter.  

Vera had natural skills at drawing and painting that she worked on developing when she was younger. Many of her oil paintings and pastel drawings still decorate our walls. But she may be remembered most  for her singing. After high school, Vera landed a job with the Hudson Bay Company. This gave her the opportunity to share her most excellent voice through the company choir - joyful recollections for her. Another sister also had an exceptional singing voice and both had taken training. The two of them once cut a vinyl record in a recording booth. It was red! If only there was a copy left.  

Then in the late fourties, Vera made a bold move to Toronto. This decision would lead to an amazing life ahead. How perfect as well that her older sister was already there with her husband. She had a place to land and quickly found a job as a cashier at the A&P. It wasn’t long before she caught the eye of a striking and very tall police officer on the beat, Thomas Cooke.  Her co-workers were so excited to see if he’d return to visit and kept an eye out for him. I understand he suddenly needed a lot of food, and often.

They were married in May, 1950. Being the wife of a police officer certainly had its challenges and great moments, especially as Tom rose through the ranks and over time, went on to become the Deputy Chief of the Toronto Police Force.  We have so very many stories as a family in this regard, enough to fill books.  One of Vera’s most terrifying moments may have been a after a phone call informing her that her husband was in a hostage situation. People were apparently at gunpoint. Tom was poised to fly off to a foreign country at any moment, as one of the demands was that a senior police officer accompany the gunman. There were many events, but this one was quite memorable.

The three children were born in 1953, 1956 and 1958, always known as Laurie, Tommy and Danny. We lived on Agar Crescent in Islington from the very early fifties to May 1967. Neighbours all knew each other well. Vera belonged to a bowling league at the “Plantation” on Dundas St. as did a number of other women on the block. And notably, she was a soloist in the choir for many years at Christ the King Anglican church on Rathburn road in Etobicoke, from just after its inception in 1961 and into the 1970s.

Through these years, Vera laboured tirelessly - wringer washers, mountains of cotton diapers, a perpetual pile of dampened shirts to iron, kids to keep quiet while Dad slept after the graveyard shifts, trips to the cottage. We hauled up half the household, all the fishing gear and a boat motor. Even Vera’s father squeezed into the car. She loved the lake country, but did quietly note that cooking and cleaning did not go away at the cottage, and that sweeping sand and minding sick children there wasn’t really a vacation. We however would never have known that at the time. And in general, Vera did survive a seemingly inordinate number of near death experiences with each child, it’s hard to imagine the worry.   She certainly saved her children from harm over and over and defended us tirelessly. For that we thank her.

Over time, responsibilities with small children moved more to the background, and Tom’s promotions with the MTP afforded them more social and travel opportunities. Vera took on a new shine. She stepped out on her own too, by taking a trip to Europe with her sisters, and landing a retail sales job at Sherway Gardens. She was the Manager of the Collacutt Shop there for a while too.

Tom and Vera spent their retirement years primarily in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, but they were also snowbirds who kept a place in Sarasota, Florida, were residents of Southhampton, Ontario, and had a  three year stay near Duncan on Vancouver Island. They went sailing as often as possible and covered a good deal of the planet.

In 2010, about a year or so after Tom passed away, Vera chose adventure over endings, and left to start a new life on the west coast at 83!  She always felt at home here and also wanted a chance to spend some time with her children and grandchildren in Vancouver.

After scoping out potential locations on a visit in 2010, Vera fell in love with White Rock and purchased a lovely, most suitable condo there and headed out permanently.  She dressed it up to its finest with her excellent taste and was so proud of the result. She enjoyed it well, if only for a brief time. Although she had to leave when her health became an issue, brother Dan and myself had the pleasure of her company in our home for these last few years, and Yolanda and Tyler had a chance to develop a deeper relationship with their grandmother.

The location and her space was a concern to us all at first, but not for Vera.  She called the main floor her “Kuchka” and thought it was just perfect. We wondered, how will someone like Vera be OK living in this gritty, semi-industrial, urban neighbourhood, after living a life more like that of a country gentlewoman for so many years. But Vera was more than OK. She made this neighbourhood her home in no time, routinely tooling about East Hastings Street on her scooter, making friends with all the shopkeepers and even a few of the local homeless people.

These were hard years for Vera physically, but she made the best of everything and just kept on going, well beyond everyone’s expectations, taking every last drop life had to offer.

She was possibly happiest while shopping or at the casino for some excitement, but she also loved her gardening, especially if it involved pushing rocks around. Somehow in her condition, she built a new garden stretching from her door to the sidewalk.  Indeed, these last years were packed full of everything one would want: brilliant conversations, hours together watching our favourite shows, numerous outings, family reunions and even one last cruise to Alaska.

Vera had a notable impact on many people through her life and the stories will continue. She left us all with bigger hearts and some very large shoes to fill. All our love forever Vera. 

Born: Mar 01, 1927 in Stachava

Died: Jun 26, 2015 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Obituary

VERA COOKE On the morning of Friday, June 26, 2015, Vera Cooke passed away quietly with family by her side, at the age of 88. Vera was born in Stachow, Belarus, on March 1, 1927. As a young girl she immigrated with her family to Winnipeg, Manitoba. As a young woman she ventured to Toronto, where she met her husband Tom and raised a family. Following retirement, Tom and Vera spent many happy years in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, amongst good friends. Then finally, she spent her last challenging, but precious years in Vancouver. Often described as both lovely and gracious, Vera was a warm, gentle spirit, likable to everyone she met. She was strong, passionate, artistic, had a beautiful singing voice, was an outstanding seamstress and quilter and importantly, a much loved, affectionate wife and Mom. We are all heartbroken to lose her. Vera was predeceased by her husband Thomas Robert Earl Cooke in May, 2009 and by her parents Teodor and Stephanida Kachanovsky, her brother Walter and her sisters Nadine and Julie. She is survived by her brother Joseph and sisters Sophia and Joanne. Three children and their families are left behind: Laurie Cooke and daughter Yolanda Koscielski of Vancouver, British Columbia; Thomas Cooke, his wife Ciandra and their 2 sons, Tom Jr. and Riley of London, Ontario; Dan Cooke and his son Tyler of Vancouver, British Columbia. Vera will be interred beside her husband Tom at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, London, Ontario. A Celebration of Life for family and friends on the West Coast will be held at Vera's home on Saturday, July 11th at 3p.m. A private family reception is to follow at a later date in London, Ontario. For further details please visit Vera's memorial site and contact the host, or call the family directly. You may also read Vera's biography there, view photos, sign the guestbook or add a tribute. http://memorialwebsites. legacy.com/veracooke/ homepage.aspx We welcome flowers to Vera's home, or donations in lieu to St. James Cottage Hospice, 650 North Penticton St., Vancouver, British Columbia.