Yvonne Aline Cook

Born in Chula Vista, CA, as a child and teen, Yvonne was active in church, enjoyed singing, and was involved in Rainbow Girls and Girls State. An excellent student in high school, she was a life member of the California Scholarship Federation, president of the Science Club, and co-editor of her high school’s newspaper, The Lance. She went on to pursue her degree in journalism at Pepperdine University on a full scholarship. She was the editor of several publications at Pepperdine, and it was during her senior year that she met the love of her life and husband of nearly 53 years, Wynn Cook, at a journalism conference, and she joined him at San Jose State University to finish her degree.

Wynn and Yvonne built their beautiful life together in south San Jose, and started their family with their son, Avery, then Heather, four years later. Yvonne played an active role in her children’s lives, at church, and at their schools as a volunteer and leader of San Anselmo Elementary School’s Home and School Club. It was through these experiences that she developed a passion for serving schools, and she went on to serve on the Oak Grove School District’s District Advisory Committee and then was successfully elected to OGSD school board, where she served for 23 years, including as board president four times. Yvonne also served in many leadership capacities with the California School Boards Association, including the Delegates Assembly, which led the policy direction for the association. Shortly following her final year on the board, the district named its board room in honor of her. She was also active in local politics through supporting campaigns of many local, statewide and national elected officials and participating in the Democratic Activists for Women Now (DAWN), as well as working as a policy aide for District 2 Councilmember Charlotte Powers. To her family and community, Yvonne was a role model of incredible servant leadership, as she led with integrity, compassion, and honesty.

In addition to her tireless work as a school board member, she loved being a grandmother to her six grandchildren, three of whom attended schools in OGSD. She also enjoyed decorating her home, baking, and, always curious and desiring to keep her mind sharp, she was an avid reader of mystery novels and loved word challenges.

She was welcomed into heaven’s gates by her father and mother, David and Mabel Avery, and other friends and loved ones in heaven, including her beloved Aunt Dorothy, with whom she shared a wonderful bond. She is survived by her husband, Wynn, children Avery Cook and Heather McGowan (Chad) , her grandchildren, Jessica (Cook), Avery Jr. (Cook), Veronica (Cook), Hayden (McGowan), Lily (McGowan), Brody (McGowan) sister, Deborah Durham, nephews Jim and David, and niece, Aiden.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, January 21, 2023 from 2-4 p.m. at the Oak Grove School District Office (6578 Santa Teresa Blvd., San Jose) in the Yvonne Cook Board Room. In honor of Yvonne’s love of color, please wear an outfit with color, or her favorite color, which was red. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the new Yvonne Cook Scholarship Fund which will benefit students graduating from Santa Teresa, Oak Grove and Andrew Hill High Schools. Checks may be sent to the following address with “Yvonne Cook” written in the memo line: East Side Education Foundation, 2530 Berryessa Road, #432, San Jose, CA 95132 Or, donations may be made online at: https://www.eastside-fund.org/cook_scholarship

A private burial ceremony will be held at Oak Hill Funeral Home and Memorial Park.