Edith Pope Cook

1938 - 2024

Edith Pope Cook of Washington, DC, better known as "Val," passed away peacefully on June 10, 2024 surrounded by family and her dedicated caregivers. She was 85.

Val helped bring high fashion to the nation's capital in the late 70s and early 80s, first with her own women's clothing store in Georgetown and later as vice president and fashion director at Saks-Jandel in Chevy Chase. She was also a regular on Washington's social circuit where she often modeled the latest fashions and trends herself.

Val was born in San Francisco on August 25, 1938. She was the youngest of Harriet Brownell Barnett and George A. Pope Jr.'s four children, and she spent her youth in the Bay Area. She attended the Brillantmont International School in Lausanne, Switzerland, before graduating from Garrison Forest School in Baltimore in 1956. She then attended Sarah Lawrence college.

In 1962, she married journalist Philip Cook. They lived in Washington, DC and Rome while raising three children – Diana, Amanda and Peter.

In 1975, Val took the leap into the fashion world. She took over Dorcas Hardin, a well-known Georgetown boutique previously owned by the mother of one of her closest friends. Val ran the store for two years before Saks-Jandel hired her to expand their designer fashion business. For nearly two decades, Val helped dress Washington's high-powered women including Joan Mondale, Barbara Bush and Elizabeth Taylor.

Val and Philip divorced in 1988, and she moved to Sun Valley, Idaho. In 1994, she married Col. Don Hanna, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.). The couple later moved to San Antonio, while also spending time in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She returned to Washington in 2014 after the couple divorced and lived her remaining years in the nation's capital.

Among Val's many and varied interests throughout her life were cooking, skiing, traveling, reading, caring for her dogs and collecting a variety of objects of both beauty and interest. But nothing was more important to her than her friends and family.

She is survived by her beloved children: Diana Cook and her partner Jeff Tufano, Amanda Werksman and her husband Harry, and Peter Cook and his wife Missy. She is also survived by her brother Guy Pope, half-sisters Adrianna Sullivan and Patsy Pope, and step-sisters Fayal Greene and Lucy Campbell. She was predeceased by her brothers Peter Pope and George Pope.

Val was incredibly proud of her four grandchildren: Courtney Hunt and her husband Lane, Jack Spalten and wife Carlisle, George Cook and James Cook. In her final weeks, she was able to meet and hold her first great-grandchild, Harper Hunt, which gave her immense joy.

A private celebration of Val's life will be held on June 22, and an interment service for family will be held in California.

In lieu of flowers and with gratitude, the family asks that donations be made to Type 1 diabetes research, Garrison Forest School or The Humane Society.