Katherine Cook

Katherine Cook passed away on November 27, 2024, at the age of 103. She was the daughter of Earl P. Cook Sr. and Katherine Tigner Cook of Gabbettville, GA. Katherine and her brother, Earl Pope Cook, grew up on the family’s cotton farm, which later became submerged under West Point Lake at the site of the Earl Cook Recreation Area, named in honor of her father.

Despite becoming deaf at a very young age, Katherine learned to talk and read with remarkable perseverance. During her elementary years, her parents fitted her with large hearing aids in both ears. Her mother ingeniously sewed pockets into Katherine's dresses to hold the bulky batteries needed to power the devices.

After graduating from high school, Katherine attended LaGrange College for three years before enrolling in West Point Business School to study bookkeeping and typing. In 1942, she began working at the Callaway Foundation, where, under Sam Turner’s mentorship, she mastered the art of drafting complex architectural drawings. Many of these structures still stand today, serving as enduring symbols of the Callaway family’s generosity to the people of LaGrange. Katherine retired from the Callaway Foundation in 1986 after 44 years of dedicated service.

For much of her life, Katherine lived on Park Avenue with her mother. After her mother’s passing, she moved to Wisteria Ridge, where she built new friendships, and later to Vernon Woods Retirement Community, where she was surrounded by friends and supported by loving caregivers.

Known affectionately as “Miss Kat” to most, Katherine was a devoted member of the LaGrange Methodist Church, in the Mary Will Thompson Sunday School class. She faithfully volunteered at the weekly Soup Kitchen. She loved playing games, particularly bridge, and was an avid participant in several lifelong bridge groups. Katherine also had a passion for travel. In the 1950s, her aunt and uncle from Atlanta took her on exciting trips to Hawaii and Europe. She frequently traveled with friends to beaches along the Gulf Coast and St. Simons Island.

To her family, Katherine was lovingly known as “Sis.” When her nieces were young, they spent summers with her, attending Vacation Bible School at her church and enjoying meals prepared by their beloved cook, Alma Appleby. Sis’s grandnieces and grandnephews will always cherish her generosity, kindness, and unwavering love.

Katherine is survived by her two nieces, Edith “Cookie” Davis and Marilyn Cook Schwenk, as well as her grandnephews and grandnieces: Bradley Davis, Laura Rubio, Katherine Rider, Max Schwenk, and their children.

Those wishing to share a condolence or remembrance with the family may do so by visiting www.shlagrange.com.

Arrangements are by Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, 1010 Mooty Bridge Road, LaGrange, GA 30240 (706) 884-8636

A Memorial Service to honor her life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Meals on Wheels at the Lagrange United Methodist Church.