Anna Katherine Cook

August 2, 1923 – December 28, 2020

Anna was born to Italian immigrants and started life in what at the time was a sleepy fishing village; Greenport, Long Island, New York. The second child of eventually seven children born to Diletta (Mazzaferro) Dinizio and Antonio Dinizio, Anna helped raise her younger siblings doing whatever was needed such as taking them to swim in the bay during the warmer months. She accumulated wisdom and survived living through Prohibition, the Hurricane of 1938 and the Great Depression. Whenever there was the rare sighting of an airplane in flight, she and friends would wave and call out, “Hi, Lindy.” (Charles Lindbergh).

After graduating Greenport High School, At 18 years old, Anna went to South Hampton School of Nursing in South Hampton, New York and became a Registered Nurse.

Coming of age during World War II, Anna trained for and served as Nurse General Duty in the U.S. Army. Serving stateside at Fort Dix, New Jersey, she saw the casualties of war. She was awarded the World War II Victory Medal and the Meritorious Service Unit Plaque and was a Second Lieutenant at the time of her discharge in 1946.

She married Robert T. Cook of Montauk, Long Island, New York in Greenport on December 8, 1946. Anna and Robert, war veteran and still serving in the U.S. Navy, were stationed at several Navy towns on the West Coast before settling in San Diego. In 1956, they purchased a five year old house in the El Cerrito neighborhood. At that time, El Cerrito was at the far edge of town and also the location of the Blessed Sacrament Parish Church where she has been a member and active with the Woman's Club ever since.

Anna was generous with her time and resources. She was active in the kid's baseball, Girl Scouts, flute lessons and supported all kinds of her children’s other activities. She always considered the noisiness of happy children at play as music. She advocated for swimming lessons and water safety.

While on a visit to the ocean side of Long Island, she was knowledgeable enough to instruct her pre grade school son how to swim safely in the crashing surf off Montauk. By observing bathers and noting who was confident and who was not competent. This would be an important lesson to respect and not fear the water. Explaining who was safe and who was not. An important lesson remembered of not to fear but to respect the water. Lessons remembered by her child before he could even swim. These lessons were taught to and remembered by her child before he himself was a confident swimmer and were always proven correct.

She continued her caring of people by serving two different elderly homebound in the neighborhood with their medicine and some of their personal needs expecting nothing in return.

When her children were older, she took part time work. One of the positions was with an elementary school cafeteria as the “Lunch Lady”. She also worked at two different retirement homes dispensing medicines.

In her much later years she joined an organization called S.U.C.E.S.S Optimist Club of San Diego California. Her contribution was sending birthday cards to the children who had serious illnesses and to their siblings. The organization itself provides experiences for the children to help keep their minds off their illness. Because of her love of children, this was a perfect organization for her attention.

Anna is survived by three children, Edward Cook, Thomas Cook, Carol Cook Brent and son in law Robert Brent all of which live in San Diego. She also has three living brothers, Louis Dinizio, Anthony Dinizio sister in law Mary Jane Dinizio and William Dinizio, nineteen nieces and nephews and their many children and grandchildren many still living in Greenport and others throughout the nation. From her husband Robert's family, there is one living brother John Cook sister in law Jan Cook, and nieces and nephews who have sent their condolences.

Donations may be made to S.U.C.E.S.S Optimist Club of SD CA c/o Georgia Langhorst 1676 Ithica Street, Chula Vista, CA 91913