Sally Smith Cooke

Sally, age 74, passed away peacefully at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers, MA on July 10th, after celebrating her 50th anniversary on July 9th. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her.

Sally was born in Lynn, MA, to the late Frederick P. Smith and Mabelle Carrie Benvie Smith on December 22, 1935. Of her close childhood relatives, she leaves her brother Frederick P. Smith, of Ocala, Florida, and her cousin Jean Benvie Perkins and husband Hamilton Perkins of Marblehead.

She grew up on Hamilton Avenue in Lynn, where she attended elementary school and Cobbett Junior High, later moving to Elmwood Road in Swampscott, graduating from Swampscott High School in 1953, and from Bates College in 1957 with a major in Biology. She was much loved and respected by her classmates, who elected her Winter Carnival Queen in 1957. Throughout her life she remained an active and devoted Bates alumna, which included monthly luncheons with local classmates.

Sally also excelled in her career. She attained one of the first Masters in Occupational Therapy from Tufts University in 1959. Her first job was at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Boston. The following year she married her lifelong love, Phillips C. Cooke of Swampscott. They enjoyed a long and loving marriage, and she hung on long enough to celebrate their 50th anniversary on July 9th, passing away the day after. Her family was her greatest joy, and she raised her children in Marblehead. She temporarily ceased formal practice of Occupational Therapy to bring up her three beloved children, Jonathan, Peter and Jennifer. After her children were older, she resumed work at United Cerebral Palsy in early intervention for many years. For the first 40 years of their union she made her family’s home on Pequot Road until moving across the cove in 2001, where her husband still resides.

Sally loved participating in many activities in town, including being a deacon and trustee of Old North Church, a long-term member and past-president of the Cottage Gardeners of Marblehead, a 40 year member of the Corinthian Yacht Club with her husband Phil, golfing with her dear friends and a member of the “Purl Girls” knitting group. She was also a gifted artist, creating many jewelry pieces, watercolors and hooked rugs.

With her husband Phil and her children, she developed a great sense of adventure as she became an accomplished skier, spending many years skiing at Waterville Valley, and went on many trips to the West and Alps with fellow ski bus friends, hiked 32 of the 4.000 footers in the White Mountains with her family and learned slalom waterskiing on Lake Sunapee. Sally enjoyed adventure, and she and Phil traveled the world together. One of her favorite trips was a cruise to Iceland and Spitsbergen, a Norwegian island lying far within the Arctic Circle.

She was a kind and loving wife, mother, sister, cousin, grandmother, aunt and friend, most especially remembered for her contagious smile, generous warmth and incredible graciousness. Sally was much loved and will be greatly missed by her husband, Phillips Carter Cooke of Marblehead; her son Jonathan Phillips Cooke, daughter in-law Sarah, and their children Rachel and Josh of Newton; son Peter Benvie Cooke, daughter in-law Mary Ann, and their children, Madeleine and Jake of Westwood; and daughter Jennifer Cooke Rotman, son-in-law Rich, and their children, Matthew and Samuel of Westborough, and her countless friends.

Her family would like to thank all of the special people at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers, MA and all of her care providers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA, most especially her oncologist, Ursula Matulonis, MD.

Family and friends are kindly invited for visiting hours at Eustis & Cornell Funeral Home, 142 Elm Street, Marblehead, on Tuesday, July 13th from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. A private burial will be held at Waterside Cemetery in Marblehead, after which there will be a Memorial Service to celebrate her life at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 14th at Old North Church, 35 Washington Street, Marblehead followed by a reception at the Corinthian Yacht Club, 1 Nahant Street, Marblehead.

In lieu of flowers, Sally requested that donations in her honor be mailed to:

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

10 Brookline Place West, 6th Floor

Brookline, MA 02445

Attn: Sally Cooke Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

The Sally Cooke Ovarian Cancer Research Fund supports research at the Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers. Sally's beloved oncologist, Ursula Matulonis, MD, will direct the funds towards the recently developed technology called OncoMap, used to detect and identify specific genetic mutations involved in ovarian cancer samples. Sally chose to support Dr. Matulonis's groundbreaking research project because it has the potential to make a profound impact on the diagnosis and personalized treatment options for breast, ovarian and endometrial cancer patients.

To learn more about the Sally Cooke Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, please contact Martha Ruest at (617) 632-6550.